California EV Sales Dropped Two Quarters in a Row Last Year
Automakers have seen wavering demand for EVs across the country, but California has always been the stronghold for electric adoption and infrastructure. Even so, the tides turned late last year, which could signal slower times ahead for the industry.
EV sales fell for two consecutive quarters last year, down ten percent between Q3 and Q4, to 89,993 registrations. As Automotive News pointed out, the state still registers a substantial number of EVs, and they accounted for 21.4 percent of auto sales last year. California regulators want all vehicle sales to be for zero-emissions models by 2035, so any downturn is cause for concern.
Cox Automotive's director of industry insights, Stephanie Valdez Streaty, said, “When I think about California’s overall adoption, this is just part of this transition. But if we see more quarters like this, it will be indicative of a slowdown.” She tempered that warning with a statement that more charging infrastructure and better training for dealers will lead to more growth.
Electric vehicles sold in record numbers last year, growing to 7.6 percent, up from 5.9 percent the year before. That growth is a step in the right direction, but it’s slower than many predicted. That has led many to predict that 2024 will be a year of incentives, price cuts, and higher inventory levels on dealers’ lots.
[Image: The Image Party via Shutterstock]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Ted, I believe your numbers are comparing Cali, to the rest of USA. Cali's numbers are dropping 21.4% last year. USA overall went up to 7.6% (doubtful). But Cali's early adoption is fading.
Watch what happens everywhere else.
The League of Big Oil Simps is overwhelmed that EV sales grow by 40% annually, so they need to cherry pick a state where that's not the case to get to sleep at night.
What Chris and Automotive News aren't telling you, is that the source of their "data" is the California New Car Dealers Association. Meaning that they have no idea what two-thirds of the EV market (Tesla) is selling.
More bogus statistics that only people who breathe exhaust daily could fall for.
Jeff, there are other problems. As I wrote in '08:
"Now, two studies published in Science on 29 February 2008 have thrown a cold wet blanket on biofuels, claiming that clearing new land and converting existing cropland to produce feedstocks incurs a “carbon debt”—that is, releases more carbon than is saved by the biofuels produced. Moreover, this debt won’t be fully repaid for tens to hundreds of years, depending on the original carbon content of the land, the type of biofuel, and the efficiency of converting the biomass to biofuels."
Read the whole article here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430251/