EV Adoption Hits a Bump
First-quarter sales lagged, but EVs on U.S. roads hit a record.
The ratio of total U.S. public charging ports for each EV is one to 30, the alliance said.
Pexels/César Baciero
U.S. new electric-vehicle sales fell slightly in the first quarter, according to a major automaker trade group that found public charging remains a major roadblock. Still, registrations were up 9% year-over-year.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation report shows a one percentage point drop from the fourth quarter to 10% of light-duty sales, or about flat year-over-year.
The share of gas-powered models, meanwhile, fell about five percentage points from the first quarter of 2024.
EV registrations, meanwhile, were up 9% to nearly 375,000 vehicles, according to alliance data, which shows the number of U.S. EVs in operation hit a historic peak of 6.2 million, or 2%.
The group counted 149 EV models on the U.S. market, pickups comprising 79% of the market, down two percentage points from the fourth quarter.
California still led states in EV registrations at about 24%, followed by Washington, D.C., Washington state, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey, Hawaii, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Delaware and Florida, all exceeding 10% market share.
Public chargers haven’t kept pace with EV adoption, however gradual sales may be increasing, the alliance found. The number of chargers grew quarter-over-quarter by 5% while registered EVs increased 6%, or 42 EVs for each new port. The ratio of total ports for each EV is one to 30.
The Trump administration pulled Biden-era funding for states to build out EV charging infrastructure, though this week a federal judge ordered release of the balance of the money.
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