LOS ANGELES (KNX) — California has become the first U.S. state to register more than one million electric vehicles, with almost 25 percent purchased in 2021 alone.
According to Bloomberg, California drivers registered 663,015 fully electric vehicles and 379.125 plug-in hybrids, which can utilize both electric and gas power. Of those, 183,993 fully electric and 63,141 hybrids were bought or leased in 2021, according to data from the California Energy Commission.
Electric cars, including hybrids, accounted for more than 12% of all light-duty vehicles sold in California in 2021.
California has incentivized purchases of fully electric or hybrid cars in recent years. The state offers rebates to drivers who buy fully electric or hybrid models. Electric vehicle drivers can also apply for a decal that allows them to drive in carpool lanes even when by themselves.
But harsher restrictions are coming down the pike, perhaps further pushing California car shoppers toward the electric vehicle market. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in 2020 to end sales of new, gas-powered cars in California by 2035.
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