How many electric cars are in the U.S.? 2024

General electric car statistics

The nearly 10 million EVs that traversed American roads in 2022 were more than double the number of EVs driven in the U.S. in 2016. The growing ubiquity of EVs has been driven by strong sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles: Estimated sales of these EV types jumped by more than 575% from 2016 to 2022.

However, widespread EV adoption in the U.S. is hampered by some formidable barriers. These include EVs’ relatively short driving ranges, the time necessary to charge their batteries and a scarcity of roadside charging options. Price is also an issue, though the cost of EVs has not risen as quickly as the cost of traditional vehicles.

Ownership by state

As of July 2023, Californians owned 903,620 all-electric vehicles, by far the largest number registered in any U.S. state. Floridians are second on the list, with 167,990 all-electric vehicles, and Texans are third with 149,000. These are also the nation’s most populous states.

By contrast, only 800 drivers in Wyoming own all-electric vehicles, and a mere 600 are driven in North Dakota.

The huge number of EVs in California can be explained, in part, by the rebates of up to $8,250 on qualifying EVs that the state formerly offered its residents. That’s equivalent to a 21% discount on a 2023 Tesla Model 3, which has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $38,990. These incentivization programs were suspended, however, due to the unexpectedly high growth of EV sales in California, which reduced rebate funds “more quickly than expected,” according to the California Air Resources Board.

Ownership by EV type

There are four basic types of EVs:

• All-electric (battery) vehicles (BEVs)
• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)
• Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)
• Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV)

Tesla dominates the BEV market in the U.S., with five of its models featured among America’s 10 best-selling BEVs in 2022. It was the only manufacturer with multiple models on that list.

But despite Tesla’s popularity, most American EV drivers nonetheless prefer hybrids. In 2022, HEVs and PHEVs significantly outnumbered BEVs in the U.S. by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio. Americans’ preference for hybrids may reflect their continuing concern about the scarcity of electric charging stations and the limited ability of all-electric cars to drive long distances without a recharge.

The FCEV market is relatively minor in the U.S., with only 2,707 sold in 2022, a sales decrease of 19% from the previous year for that EV subtype. This niche market is dominated by one car model, the Toyota Mirai, which made up more than 77% of total U.S. FCEV sales in 2022.

Electric vehicle market share by year

Sales of HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs have more than tripled since 2020, whereas sales of non-hybrid gasoline- or diesel-fueled vehicles have declined.

EVs accounted for about 4% of light-duty vehicle sales in 2020 and 12% of light-duty vehicle sales overall in 2022. That market share increased to about 18% by the third quarter of 2023. Light-duty vehicles, which are vehicles that weigh less than 10,000 pounds, make up the vast majority of America’s cars.

As EV sales gradually increased, manufacturers reduced the number of traditional internal combustion car models from 318 to 297 between 2021 and the second quarter of 2023. The number of EV models increased from 34 to 55 during that period.

Market research suggests that luxury vehicle buyers are more interested in EVs than non-luxury buyers, and luxury cars account for a significant portion of the rise in EV sales. In fact, battery-electric luxury cars made up 32% of the overall luxury automobile market in the second quarter of 2023. In response to this interest, manufacturers removed 17 luxury internal combustion engine car models and added 19 luxury EV models to the market between 2021 and 2023.

But while EVs are clearly popular among the wealthy, they’re not necessarily seen as viable cars by the majority of Americans.

Electric vehicle sentiment in the U.S.

Less than half of American adults (38%) surveyed in 2023 said they are seriously interested in buying an EV as their next vehicle. This number is on the decline, as 42% surveyed in 2022 indicated that they were seriously interested in buying an EV.

This finding by the Pew Research Center contrasts surprisingly with the fact that America’s top automakers are building and selling more EVs. This rise in sales is probably due to the Biden administration’s push to increase tax credits for EV purchases and lower vehicles’ emission limits. It’s also likely due to the incentives recently provided by California, where about 30% of EVs are registered.

There are several key reasons for Americans’ skepticism about EVs. Americans, unlike Europeans, drive long distances and have access to relatively inexpensive gasoline. And most Americans have little confidence that recharging stations will become numerous and convenient enough to make long commutes realistic in an EV. Only 17% of Americans are extremely or very confident this will happen, while a full 53% are not too or not at all confident. Those who are less confident in the creation of a robust charging network are less likely to buy EVs.

In addition to concerns about access to charging stations, many Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of phasing out standard gasoline-powered cars and trucks, and support for doing so dropped from 2021 to 2023. This is the case even among Democrats, who are, in general, more supportive of projects and products that are likely to reduce climate change.

The future of electric vehicle adoption

Americans’ concerns regarding the feasibility of driving EVs may partly explain the disparate projections for the U.S. EV market.

EVAadoption, a company that analyzes the EV market, predicts that BEV and PHEV sales will reach approximately 29.5% of all new cars sold by 2030. According to S&P Global Mobility, another company that provides automotive industry analysis, electric cars will make up 40% of car sales in the year 2030. Both of those percentages would be huge increases from current EV sales, but they’re far from the target set by President Biden in an August 2021 executive order, which called for a 50% EV market share of new vehicle sales by 2030.

The Biden administration’s lofty goal does seem realistic, however, when looking at projections by Global Market Insights. That research and consulting company believes the U.S. EV market will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of more than 15.5% between 2023 and 2032. That level of growth would see the U.S. EV market’s value increase from $49.1 billion in 2022 to $215.7 billion in 2032. Market growth is expected to occur as a result of:

• Government initiatives that favor EVs over gas-powered vehicles
• Increasing environmental awareness among American consumers
• A fast-growing e-commerce industry
• More efficient public transportation systems

Factors that may limit the growth of the EV industry include the high cost of investment in EVs and the fact that high-capacity batteries are environmentally unfriendly.

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