Don’t buy into the headlines and naysayers. Regardless of recent government actions, there are bright spots nationwide as consumers continue to buy electric vehicles (EVs).
U.S. consumers bought nearly 133,000 EVs last December, achieving a record-breaking 8.8% of all new cars sold. Florida is now the number two state in EV adoption. EV registrations in Central Florida surged 15.2% in just one year, outpacing the 9.4% national growth rate. Florida’s Orange County saw an even bigger jump — a 46% increase in fully electric and plug-in hybrid registrations from April 2023 to April 2024. In California, 2024 ended with 108,303 new EV sales in Q4 — an increase of 6% over Q4 2023 sales. The state also surpassed 2.2 million cumulative new EV sales in Q4 2024, recording 2,213,296 million EVs sold by the end of the year, up from 1,769,922 in 2023. EV’s in California had over a 25% market share by the end of 2024. While many factors influence the EV sales market, the threat of possible shifts in federal incentives may have contributed to stronger-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter. Regardless, automaker EV bets are starting to pay off.
Ford’s Mach E outsold the traditional Mustang for the first time ever in 2024 and the automakers reported continued sales growth of EVs in January. Similarly, Honda’s new electric Prologue has seen impressive sales, with over 33,000 units sold in 2024, surpassing some of its traditional models. General Motors announced that its EVs became “variable profit positive” last year, indicating that revenues from EVs are now exceeding production costs.
EV adoption continues to move forward at a steady pace, even with the shift from early adopters to more mainstream consumers. That means we need more education and understanding around the benefits of EVs. Additionally, EV purchase incentives, charging investments and battery manufacturing tax breaks are still important for speeding up the adoption of EVs’ superior technology. We see a path forward for states and local governments to lead.
We can’t slow down as automakers are hitting important milestones in the EV market. We know EV incentives work because we’ve seen them work. California, a pioneer in supporting EV adoption, boasted an EV market share of over 25% in 2024. However, the Golden State isn’t special; any state can do this. Colorado’s state incentives helped to make it the leading state in EV sales — exceeding California — in Q3 of 2024.
California’s approach is holistic — investing in public charging infrastructure, maintaining state-based vehicle purchase incentives, deploying at-home charging incentives, and adopting building codes to make new homes EV-ready. It also helps that, as more people see their friends and neighbors owning an EV, they get used to it. It’s no longer some untested, future technology. It’s here now.
Just like EV technology, Veloz is also here — and we plan on continuing our mission to showcase the benefits of EVs. Although we are a national organization, California is our home state. We encourage every state in the nation to learn from our experience increasing EV adoption in California and we want to work together to share our resources with the rest of the country. We look forward to seeing states and local jurisdictions deploying new purchase incentives, charging infrastructure investments, and clear policy frameworks to create a fertile environment for EV industry growth. We are poised and ready to feature new state and local incentives in our national incentive search tool on ElectricForAll.org.
With the federal government changing course on EVs, we’re going to do what we’ve always done — put in the work to keep this momentum going. To sustain and accelerate growth, continuous innovation, consumer education, and supportive policies, Veloz is leveraging its leadership, 40+ members, communications channels, connections, and convening power. By working together, we will share successful models and lessons learned, while proactively addressing challenges so we can speed up Veloz’s Electric For All vision.
EV facts are highlighted, and myths are busted here each month in my Ride to Zero Blog. Sign up here to get the latest news, invitations to events, and announcements on the road to electrified transportation.