Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States
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The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is supported by the American federal government, and several
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
and
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
s. , cumulative sales in the U.S. totaled 4.7 million plug-in electric cars since 2010, led by all-electric cars. Sales totaled 1,402,371 units in 2023, with a market share of 9.1%. This was the first time the American market surpassed the 1 million sales mark. The American stock represented 20% of the global plug-in car fleet in use by the end of 2019 and the U.S. had the world's third largest stock of plug-in passenger cars after China (47%) and Europe (25%). ''See Statistical annex, pp. 247–252 (See Tables A.1 and A.12). The global stock of plug-in electric passenger vehicles totaled 7.2 million cars at the end of 2019, of which, 47% were on the road in China. The stock of plug-in cars consist of 4.8 million battery electric cars (66.6%) and 2.4 million plug-in hybrids (33.3%). In addition, the stock of light commercial plug-in electric vehicles in use totaled 378 thousand units in 2019, and about half a million electric buses were in circulation, most of which are in China.'' New-vehicle sales are expected to reach 16.3 million units in 2025, marking the highest volume since 2019 and a modest rise from 2024’s 16.0 million units. The U.S.
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...
of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% in 2011, to 0.66% in 2015, to 1.13% in 2017, 2.1% in 2018, slightly declined to 1.9% in 2019, ''Plug-in electric car sales in the U.S. totaled 194,479 units in 2017, consisting of 104,487 all-electric cars and 89,992 plug-in hybrids. The plug-in car segment achieved a market share of 1.13% of new car sales.'' rose to 2.2% in 2020, 4.0% in 2021, 6.8% in 2022, and achieved a record 9.1% in 2023.
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
is the largest regional market in the country, with 1 million plug-in cars registered by November 2021, 46% of the national stock. , the
Tesla Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric powered Mid-size car, mid-size sedan with a fastback body style built by Tesla, Inc., introduced in 2017. The vehicle is marketed as being more affordable to more people than pr ...
all-electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...
is the all-time best selling plug-in electric car with an estimated 395,600 units delivered, followed by the
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, the Model S has both received mixed reviews from critics and a ...
electric car with about 172,400, and the
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power so ...
with 157,125 units of both generations. ''At the end of 2019, the all-time top selling plug-in cars in the U.S. were the Tesla Model 3 with 300,471 units, the Tesla Model S with 157,92, and the Chevrolet Volt with 157,054 units.'' The Model S was the best selling plug-in car in the U.S. for three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017, "Tesla sold its 200,000 Model S in the fourth quarter of 2017, in October or early November, becoming the second plug-in car to cross this sales threshold after the Nissan Leaf (300,000 units by early 2017). , Tesla reported global sales of 212,874 Model S cars." and the Model 3 also has topped sales for three years running, from 2018 to 2020. ''See Chart: "2019 Monthly/Q4 Sales Chart : Annual" - Cumulative sales in the U.S. totaled 329,528 units in 2019, and the top selling models were the Tesla Model 3 with 158,925 units, the Toyota Prius Prime with 23,630, the Tesla Model X with 19,225, the Chevrolet Bolt EV with 16,418 and the Tesla Model S with 14,100 units.'' The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 and later the
Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a United States federal law which aims to reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was ...
granted federal tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric vehicles, worth up to . ,
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
and 37 states and had established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and
PHEV A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable electric-vehicle battery, battery pack that can be directly replenished via a power cord, charging cable plugg ...
s, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and
high-occupancy vehicle lane A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, ...
access.


Overview by state

Articles about plug-in electric vehicles in individual states: *
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
*
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
*
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
*
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
*
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
*
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
*
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
*
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
*
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
*
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
*
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
*
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
*
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
*
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
*
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
*
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
*
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
*
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
*
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
*
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
*
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
*
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
*
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
*
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
*
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
*
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
*
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
*
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
*
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
*
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
*
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
*
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
*
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
*
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
*
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
*
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
*
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
*
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
*
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
*
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
*
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
*
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
*
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
*
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
*
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
*
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
*
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
* Washington *
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
*
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
*
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...


Government support

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
set the goal for the U.S. to become the first country to have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. This goal was established based on forecasts made by the
U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...
(DoE), using production capacity of PEV models announced to enter the U.S. market through 2015. The DoE estimated a cumulative production of 1,222,200 PEVS by 2015, and was based on manufacturer announcements and media reports accounting production goals for the
Fisker Karma The Fisker Karma is a luxury vehicle, luxury plug-in Range extender (vehicle), range-extended electric sports sedan produced by Fisker Automotive between 2011 and 2012. The cars were manufactured at Valmet Automotive in Finland. The United St ...
, Fisker Nina,
Ford Transit Connect The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van sold by Ford since 2002. Developed by Ford of Europe, the model line replaced sedan-based vans ( Ford Escort and Ford Courier vans) with a dedicated commercial vehicle platform. The model lin ...
, Ford Focus Electric,
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
,
Nissan Leaf The is a battery-electric car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010. It was offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback until 2025, which since then has become a crossover SUV model. The term "LEAF" serves as a backronym to ''leading envir ...
, Smith Newton, Tesla Roadster,
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, the Model S has both received mixed reviews from critics and a ...
and Th!nk City. Considering that actual PEV sales were lower than initially expected, as of early 2013, several industry observers have concluded that this goal was unattainable. Obama's goal was achieved only in September 2018. In 2008, San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums announced a nine-step policy plan for transforming the Bay Area into the "Electric Vehicle (EV) Capital of the U.S.". Other local and state governments have also expressed interest in electric cars.
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
issued an executive order in March 2012 that established the goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on California roads by 2025.


American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
pledged billion in federal grants to support the development of next-generation electric vehicles and batteries. $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce highly efficient batteries and their components; up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components; and up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate plug-in hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts—like
truck stop A truck stop (known as a service station in the United Kingdom, a travel center by major chains in the United States and a roadhouse in rural Australia) is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made f ...
charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles ( green collar jobs). In March 2009, as part of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the G ...
, the
U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...
announced the release of two competitive solicitations for up to $2 billion in federal funding for competitively awarded cost-shared agreements for manufacturing of advanced batteries and related drive components as well as up to $400 million for transportation electrification demonstration and deployment projects. This initiative aimed to help meet President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's goal of putting one million
plug-in electric vehicle A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity (such as a wall socket that connects to the power grid) via an detachable power cable to store electrical energy within its onboard rechar ...
s on the road by 2015.


Tax credits


New plug-in electric vehicles


=Federal incentives

= First the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and later the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) granted
tax credit A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "dis ...
s for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles. The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...
(ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins, though the credit is lower than for new plug-in electric vehicle (PEV). As defined by the 2009 ACES Act, a PEV is a vehicle which draws propulsion energy from a traction battery with at least 5 kwh of capacity and uses an offboard source of energy to recharge such battery. The tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles is worth plus for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 5 kwh, and the portion of the credit determined by battery capacity cannot exceed . Therefore, the total amount of the credit, between and , will vary depending on the capacity of the battery (4 to 16 kWh) used to power the vehicles. The qualified plug-in electric vehicle credit phases out for a plug-in manufacturer over the one-year period beginning with the second calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which at least 200,000 qualifying plug-in vehicles from that manufacturer have been sold for use in the U.S. Cumulative sales started counting sales after December 31, 2009. After reaching the cap, qualifying PEVs for one quarter still earn the full credit, the second quarter after that quarter plug-in vehicles are eligible for 50% of the credit for six months, then 25% of the credit for another six months and finally the credit is phased out. Both the
Nissan Leaf The is a battery-electric car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010. It was offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback until 2025, which since then has become a crossover SUV model. The term "LEAF" serves as a backronym to ''leading envir ...
electric vehicle and the
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
plug-in hybrid, launched in December 2010, are eligible for the maximum $7,500 tax credit. The
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (often abbreviated as the Prius and known as the Prius Prime in North America, South Korea, and New Zealand from 2016 to 2024) is a plug-in hybrid liftback manufactured by Toyota . The first-generation model was ...
, released in January 2012, is eligible for a tax credit due to its smaller battery capacity of 5.2 kWh. All Tesla cars and the
Chevrolet Bolt The Chevrolet Bolt EV (marketed in Europe as Opel Ampera-eExcept the UK) is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric Subcompact car, subcompact hatchback manufactured and marketed by General Motors under its Chevrolet brand from late 2016 ...
s and
BMW i3 The BMW i3 is an electric car that was manufactured by German marque BMW from 2013 to 2022. The i3 was BMW's first mass-produced zero-emissions vehicle, zero emissions vehicle and was launched as part of BMW's electric vehicle ''BMW i'' sub-bra ...
BEV are eligible for the tax credit. A 2016 study conducted by researchers from the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
found that the federal tax credit was the reason behind more than 30% of the plug-in electric sales. The impact of the federal tax incentive is higher among owners of the
Nissan Leaf The is a battery-electric car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010. It was offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback until 2025, which since then has become a crossover SUV model. The term "LEAF" serves as a backronym to ''leading envir ...
, with up to 49% of sales attributable to the federal incentive. The study, based on a stated preference survey of more than 2,882 plug in vehicle owners in 11 states, also found that the federal tax credit shifts buyers from
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...
vehicles to plug-in vehicles and advances the purchase timing of new vehicles by a year or more. In July 2018, Tesla Inc. was the first plug-in manufacturer to pass 200,000 sales and the full tax credit will be available until the end 2018, with the phase out beginning in January 2019.
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
combined sales of plug-in electric vehicles passed 200,000 units in November 2018. The full tax credit will be available until the end of March 2019 and thereafter reduces gradually until it is completely phase out beginning on April 1, 2020. In order of cumulative sales, ,
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
has delivered 126,875 units, Ford 111,715,
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
93,011 and the
BMW Group Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The ...
79,679 plug-in electric cars. A January 2024 study from the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
Center for Sustainable Systems found that the $7,500 tax credit and other federal incentives were needed to make BEVs cost competitive with ICEVs in many locations and for many vehicle classes.


=State incentives

= , 37 states and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
have established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and
PHEV A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable electric-vehicle battery, battery pack that can be directly replenished via a power cord, charging cable plugg ...
s, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and
high-occupancy vehicle lane A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, ...
access regardless of the number of occupants. In California, for example, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) was established to promote the production and use of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Eligible vehicles include only new Air Resources Board-certified or approved zero-emission or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Among the eligible vehicles are neighborhood electric vehicles, battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
vehicles including cars, trucks, medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and zero-emission motorcycles. Vehicles must be purchased or leased on or after March 15, 2010. Rebates initially of up to per light-duty vehicle, and later lowered to up to , are available for individuals and business owners who purchase or lease new eligible vehicles. Certain zero-emission commercial vehicles are also eligible for rebates up to . California's zero-emission (ZEV) regulations are anticipated to result in 1.5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2025 ( i.e., 15% sales of total states in 2025); moreover, California's mixed incentives means to reach 40% of electric vehicle sales in the entire U.S. Electric vehicle purchases made in the U.S. are eligible for $2,500 to $7,500, depending on the make and model of the vehicle, in federal tax credit. The following table summarizes some of the state incentives:


=New proposals

= Several separate initiatives have been pursued unsuccessfully at the federal level since 2011 to transform the tax credit into an instant cash rebate. The objective of these initiatives is to make new qualifying plug-in electric cars more accessible to buyers by making the incentive more effective. The rebate would be available at the point of sale allowing consumers to avoid a wait of up to a year to apply the tax credit against income tax returns. In March 2014, the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
included a provision in the FY 2015 Budget to increase the maximum tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles and other advanced vehicles from to . The new maximum tax credit would not apply to luxury vehicles with a sales price of over , such as the
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, the Model S has both received mixed reviews from critics and a ...
and the
Cadillac ELR The Cadillac ELR is a two-door, four-passenger luxury car, luxury plug-in hybrid compact car, compact coupé manufactured and marketed by Cadillac for model years, model years (MY) 2014 and 2016 – with a hiatus for MY 2015. Using a retuned vers ...
, which would be capped at . In November 2017, House Republicans proposed scrapping the tax credit as part of a sweeping tax overhaul.


Charging equipment

Until 2010 there was a federal tax credit equal to 50% of the cost to buy and install a home-based
charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point, chargepoint, or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a power supply electrical device, device that supplies electrical power for recharging plug-in electric vehicles (including batter ...
with a maximum credit of for each station. Businesses qualified for tax credits up to for larger installations. These credits expired on December 31, 2010, but were extended through 2013 with a reduced tax credit equal to 30% with a maximum credit of up to for each station for individuals and up to for commercial buyers. In 2016, the Obama administration and several stake holders announced $4.5 billion in loan guarantees for public charge stations, along with other initiatives.


EV Everywhere Challenge

On March 7, 2012, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
launched the EV Everywhere Challenge as part of the
U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...
's Clean Energy Grand Challenges, which seeks to solve some of the U.S. biggest energy challenges and make clean energy technologies affordable and accessible to the vast majority of American households and businesses. The EV Everywhere Challenge has the goal of advancing electric vehicle technologies to have the country, by 2022, to produce a five-passenger electric vehicle that would provide both a payback time of less than five years and the ability to be recharged quickly enough to provide enough range for the typical American driver. In January 2013 the Department of Energy (DoE) published the "EV Everywhere Grand Challenge Blueprint," which set the technical targets of the PEV program in four areas: battery research and development; electric drive system research and development; vehicle lightweighting; and advanced climate control technologies. The DoE set several specific goals, established in consultation with stakeholders. The key goals to be met over the next five years to make plug-in electric vehicles competitive with conventional fossil fuel vehicles are: *Cutting battery costs from their current / kWh to /kWh *Eliminating almost 30% of vehicle weight through lightweighting *Reducing the cost of electric drive systems from /kW to /kW The DoE aim is to level the purchase plus operating (fuel) cost of an all-electric vehicle with a range with the costs of an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...
(ICE) vehicle of similar size. The DoE expects than even before the latter goals are met, the 5-year
cost of ownership Cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is ...
of most plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and of all-electric vehicles with shorter ranges, such as , will be comparable to the same cost of ICE vehicles of similar size. In order to achieve these goals, the DoE is providing up to million over the next five years to fund the new Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a research center led by the
Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Lemont, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1946, the laboratory is owned by the United Sta ...
in Chicago. An initial progress report for the initiative was released in January 2014. Four results of the first year of the initiative were reported: *DOE research and development reduced the cost of electric drive vehicle batteries to / kWhr, 50% lower than 2010 costs. *In the first year of the Workplace Charging Challenge, more than 50 U.S. employers joined the Challenge and pledged to provide charging access at more than 150 sites. *DOE investments in EV Everywhere technology topped in 2013, addressing key barriers to achieving the Grand Challenge. *Consumer acceptance of electric vehicles grew: 97,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in 2013, nearly doubling 2012 sales. ;Workplace Charging Challenge In January 2013, during the Washington Auto Show, Secretary of Energy
Steven Chu Steven ChuTesla Motors Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from hom ...
, 3M,
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
,
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
,
Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the ...
,
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
, San Diego Gas & Electric,
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
, Plug In America, and the
Rocky Mountain Institute RMI, or Rocky Mountain Institute, is a global, independent, non-partisan non-profit organization co-founded in the United States by Amory Lovins. As of 2025, RMI's stated mission is to transform "global energy systems through market-driven solut ...
. The initiative's target is to increase the number of U.S. employers offering workplace charging by tenfold in the next five years. Initially, the DoE will not provide funding for this initiative.


U.S. military

The U.S. Army announced in 2009 that it will lease 4,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) within three years. The Army plans to use NEVs at its bases for transporting people around the base, as well as for security patrols and maintenance and delivery services. The Army accepted its first six NEVs at Virginia's
Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army Military base, post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and ...
in March 2009 and will lease a total of 600 NEVs through the rest of the year, followed by the leasing of 1,600 NEVs for each of the following two years. U.S. Air Force officials announced, in August 2011, a plan to establish
Los Angeles Air Force Base Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB) is a United States Space Force base located in El Segundo, California. Los Angeles Air Force Base houses and supports the headquarters of the Space Systems Command field command of the United States Space Fo ...
, California, as the first federal facility to replace 100% of its general purpose fleet with plug-in electric vehicles. As part of the program, all Air Force-owned and -leased general purpose fleet vehicles on the base will be replaced with PEVs. There are approximately 40 eligible vehicles, ranging from passenger sedans to two-ton trucks and shuttle buses. The replacement PEVs include all-electric, plug-in hybrids, and extended-range electric vehicles. Electrification of Los Angeles AFB's general purpose fleet is the first step in a Department of Defense effort to establish strategies for large-scale integration of PEVs. By May 2013, it was announced that, as part of a test program created in January 2013, 500 plug-in electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology would be in use at six military bases, purchased using an investment of $20 million. If the program succeeds, there will be 3,000 V2G vehicles in 30 bases. The
National Defense Authorization Act The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is any of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress oversees the de ...
passed in December, 2022, requires new non-combat military vehicles be electric by 2035.


Safety laws

Due to the low noise typical of electric vehicles at low speeds, the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...
ruled that all hybrids and EVs must emit artificial noise when idling, accelerating to or going in reverse by September 2019.


U.S. commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement

As a signatory party to the 2015
Paris Climate Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
, the United States government committed to reduce its
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
, among others, from the transportation sector. Already in 2015, the Federal government had set targets to reduce its own
carbon footprint A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country Greenhouse gas emissions, adds to the atmospher ...
30% by 2025, and acquire 20% of all new passenger vehicles as zero emission (all-electric of fuel cell) or plug-in hybrid by 2020, and 50% by 2025. These goals are part of the U.S. nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to achieve the worldwide emissions reduction goal set by the Paris Agreement. On June 1, 2017, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
announced that the U.S. would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...
. On November 3, 2020, then President-elect
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
announced that his administration will reverse President Donald Trump's United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement by re-entering the United States into the Paris Agreement to continue to reiterated commitment in the agreement and move forward with the proposed
Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...
legislation, to fight the global climate change problems as soon as Biden is inaugurated into office on January 20, 2021, succeeding then-outgoing Trump as President of the United States. Joe Biden also criticized Trump for withdrawing and ceasing all US participation from the UN Paris Agreement on June 1, 2017, and as Biden said that withdrawing from the UN Paris Agreement is a huge mistake. Joe Biden promises to introduce and transition to more energy-efficient buildings, increase generation of renewable energy by gradually moving away from the dependence of fracking and fossil fuels as energy sources in the US, transition the entire government fleet to 100% all-electric vehicles by the 2030s, and introduce more electric vehicles to all 50 US states. , the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...
expects 60% of all new vehicles sold in the US to be 100% all-electric vehicles by 2030 and expects new car sales of fossil fuel vehicles to be banned in the US by the 2035 timeframe, as a result of Joe Biden signing an executive order mandating that 60% of all new car sales in the US must be 100% all-electric vehicles by 2030. The Biden government plans to accomplish these goals by more incentivizing of electric vehicles, impose hefty government taxes and restrictions on internal-combustion engine vehicles, increase fuel prices for refilling up fossil-fuel vehicles, implement congestion-charge pricing zones, and impose more tougher and stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and US Environmental Protection Agency regulations on automotive emissions standards, which are all climate change and green energy provisions included in the
Build Back Better Act The Build Back Better Act was a bill introduced in the 117th Congress to fulfill aspects of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Plan. It was spun off from the American Jobs Plan, alongside the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, ...
. In December 2021, the Biden administration imposed Executive Order 14057, which is a nationwide federal government mandate that will ban new fossil fuel vehicles from all 50 US States, Washington, D.C., and all US Territories by 2035 to push the transition to electric vehicles. The order will ban new car sales of fossil-fuel powered government-owned vehicles by 2027, new fossil-fuel powered buses by 2030, and both new fossil-fuel powered privately-owned vehicles and new fossil-fuel powered commercial-owned vehicles by 2035. The US Environmental Protection Agency also unveiled stringent automotive emissions and fuel economy requirements for internal combustion engine-powered vehicles that will become mandatory on all new US-market ICE-powered vehicles starting for the 2023 model year. The standards will also get tougher and more stringent for the 2026, 2029, and 2032 model years. The new regulations will also require at least 20% of all-new vehicles sold in the United States to be 100% all-electric vehicles by 2026, followed by requiring at least 60% of all-new vehicles sold in the United States to be 100% all-electric vehicles by 2030, and finally followed by requiring 100% of all-new vehicles sold in the United States to be 100% all-electric vehicles by 2035.


Tariffs on imports


Operating costs

The costs to operate an EV in the US are typically lower or much lower than gasoline cars, as they require much less fuel. Maintenance costs are also lower, at roughly $0.04 per mile. Over the typical lifetime of a car, this sums to a difference about $8,000 compared to a gasoline car.


Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions

Electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...
s, as well as
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power so ...
s operating in
all-electric mode Charge-depleting or EV mode refers to an operation mode of an electric vehicle's powertrain that is chiefly dependent on the energy storage from the on-board battery pack. Battery electric vehicles operate solely in charge-depleting mode, and mos ...
, emit no harmful tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power, such as
particulate Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes define ...
s (
soot Soot ( ) is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. Soot is considered a hazardous substance with carcinogenic properties. Most broadly, the term includes all the particulate matter produced b ...
),
volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to Indoor mold, house mold, Upholstery, upholstered furnitur ...
s,
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
s,
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
,
ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...
,
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
, and various oxides of nitrogen. The clean air benefit is usually local because, depending on the source of the electricity used to recharge the batteries, air pollutant emissions are shifted to the location of the generation plants. In a similar manner, plug-in electric vehicles operating in all-electric mode do not emit
greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...
from the onboard source of power, but from the point of view of a well-to-wheel assessment, the extent of the benefit also depends on the fuel and technology used for
electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transm ...
. From the perspective of a full
life cycle analysis Life cycle assessment (LCA), also known as life cycle analysis, is a methodology for assessing the impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. For instance, in the case of a manufact ...
, the electricity used to recharge the batteries must be generated from renewable or clean sources such as
wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
,
solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...
,
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
, or
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
for PEVs to have almost none or zero well-to-wheel emissions.''See definition on pp. 2.''


EPA estimates

The following table compares tailpipe and upstream emissions estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for all series production
model year The model year (sometimes abbreviated as MY) is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured. ...
2014 plug-in electric vehicles available in the U.S. market. Total emissions include the emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity used to charge the vehicle, and for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, it also includes emissions associated with tailpipe emissions produced from the
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...
. These figures were published by the EPA in October 2014 in its annual report "''Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends''." All emissions are estimated considering average real world city and highway operation based on the EPA 5-cycle label methodology, using a weighted 55% city and 45% highway driving. For purposes of an accurate estimation of emissions, the analysis took into consideration the differences in operation between plug-in hybrids. Some, like the
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
, can operate in
all-electric mode Charge-depleting or EV mode refers to an operation mode of an electric vehicle's powertrain that is chiefly dependent on the energy storage from the on-board battery pack. Battery electric vehicles operate solely in charge-depleting mode, and mos ...
without using gasoline, and others operate in a blended mode like the Toyota Prius PHV, which uses both energy stored in the battery and energy from the gasoline tank to propel the vehicle, but that can deliver substantial all-electric driving in blended mode. In addition, since the
all-electric range All-electric range (AER) is the maximum driving range of an electric vehicle using only power from its on-board battery pack to traverse a given driving cycle. In the case of a Battery electric vehicle (BEV), it means the maximum range per rech ...
of plug-in hybrids depends on the size of the battery pack, the analysis introduced a utility factor as a projection of the share of miles that will be driven using electricity by an average driver, for both, electric only and blended EV modes. Since all-electric cars do not produce tailpipe emissions, the utility factor applies only to plug-in hybrids. The following table shows the overall fuel economy expressed in terms of miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (mpg-e) and the utility factor for the ten MY2014 plug-in hybrids available in the U.S. market, and EPA's best estimate of the tailpipe emissions produced by these PHEVs. In order to account for the upstream emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity, and since electricity production in the United States varies significantly from region to region, the EPA considered three scenarios/ranges with the low end scenario corresponding to the California powerplant emissions factor, the middle of the range represented by the national average powerplant emissions factor, and the upper end of the range corresponding to the powerplant emissions factor for the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
. The EPA estimates that the electricity GHG emission factors for various regions of the country vary from 346 g / kWh in California to 986 g /kWh in the Rockies, with a national average of 648 g /kWh.


Union of Concerned Scientists


2012 study

The
Union of Concerned Scientists The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. Anne Kapuscinski, Professor of Environment ...
(UCS) published a study in 2012 that assessed average greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. resulting from charging plug-in car batteries from the perspective of the full life-cycle ( well-to-wheel analysis) and according to fuel and technology used to generate electric power by region. The study used the
Nissan Leaf The is a battery-electric car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010. It was offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback until 2025, which since then has become a crossover SUV model. The term "LEAF" serves as a backronym to ''leading envir ...
all-electric car to establish the analysis baseline, and electric-utility emissions are based on EPA's 2009 estimates. The UCS study expressed the results in terms of
miles per gallon The fuel economy of an automobile relates to the distance traveled by a vehicle and the amount of fuel consumed. Consumption can be expressed in terms of the volume of fuel to travel a distance, or the distance traveled per unit volume of fue ...
instead of the conventional unit of grams of greenhouse gases or
carbon dioxide equivalent Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere over a specific time period, relative to carbon dioxide (). It is expressed as a multiple of warming caused by the same mass of carbon dioxide ( ...
emissions per year in order to make the results more friendly for consumers. The study found that in areas where electricity is generated from natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric or renewable sources, the potential of plug-in electric cars to reduce greenhouse emissions is significant. On the other hand, in regions where a high proportion of power is generated from coal, hybrid electric cars produce less -e equivalent emissions than plug-in electric cars, and the best fuel efficient gasoline-powered
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American Car classification, classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the Unite ...
produces slightly less emissions than a PEV. In the worst-case scenario, the study estimated that for a region where all energy is generated from coal, a plug-in electric car would emit greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a gasoline car rated at a combined city/highway driving fuel economy of . In contrast, in a region that is completely reliant on natural gas, the PEV would be equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated at . The study concluded that for 45% of the U.S. population, a plug-in electric car will generate lower equivalent emissions than a gasoline-powered car capable of combined , such as the
Toyota Prius The is a Compact car, compact/small family car, small family liftback (supermini/subcompact sedan (car), sedan until 2003) produced by Toyota. The Prius has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combined with an internal combustion ...
and the Prius c. The study also found that for 37% of the population, the electric car emissions will fall in the range of a gasoline-powered car rated at a combined fuel economy of , such as the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Lexus CT200h. Only 18% of the population lives in areas where the power-supply is more dependent on burning carbon, and the greenhouse gas emissions will be equivalent to a car rated at a combined fuel economy of , such as the
Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car produced by General Motors from 2008 through 2023. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, ...
and
Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1998 until 2025. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worl ...
. ''See map for regional results'' The study found that there are no regions in the U.S. where plug-in electric cars will have higher greenhouse gas emissions than the average new compact gasoline engine automobile, and the area with the dirtiest power supply produces emissions equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated at . The following table shows a representative sample of cities within each of the three categories of emissions intensity used in the UCS study, showing the corresponding miles per gallon equivalent for each city as compared to the greenhouse gas emissions of a gasoline-powered car:


2014 update

In September 2014 the UCS published an updated analysis of its 2012 report. The 2014 analysis found that 60% of Americans, up from 45% in 2009, live in regions where an all-electric car produce fewer equivalent emissions per mile than the most efficient hybrid. The UCS study found several reasons for the improvement. First, electric utilities have adopted cleaner sources of electricity to their mix between the two analysis. The 2014 study used electric-utility emissions based on EPA's 2010 estimates, but since coal use nationwide is down by about 5% from 2010 to 2014, actual efficiency in 2014 is expected to be better than estimated in the UCS study. Second, electric vehicles have become more efficient, as the average model year 2013 all-electric vehicle used 0.325 kWh/mile, representing a 5% improvement over 2011 models. The Nissan Leaf, used as the reference model for the baseline of the 2012 study, was upgraded in model year 2013 to achieve a rating of 0.30 kWh/mile, a 12% improvement over the 2011 model year model rating of 0.34 kWh/mile. Also, some new models are cleaner than the average, such as the
BMW i3 The BMW i3 is an electric car that was manufactured by German marque BMW from 2013 to 2022. The i3 was BMW's first mass-produced zero-emissions vehicle, zero emissions vehicle and was launched as part of BMW's electric vehicle ''BMW i'' sub-bra ...
, which is rated at 0.27 kWh by the EPA. An i3 charged with power from the Midwest grid would be as clean as a gasoline-powered car with about , up from for the average electric car in the 2012 study. In states with a cleaner mix generation, the gains were larger. The average all-electric car in California went up to equivalent from in the 2012 study. States with dirtier generation that rely heavily on coal still lag, such as Colorado, where the average BEV only achieves the same emissions as a gasoline-powered car. The author of the 2014 analysis noted that the benefits are not distributed evenly across the U.S. because electric car adoption is concentrated in the states with cleaner power.


2015 study

In November 2015 the Union of Concerned Scientists published a new report comparing two
battery electric vehicle A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that uses electrical energy exclusively from an electric vehicle battery, on-boa ...
s (BEVs) with similar gasoline vehicles by examining their global warming emissions over their full life-cycle, cradle-to-grave analysis. The two BEVs modeled, midsize and full-size, are based on the two most popular BEV models sold in the United States in 2015, the Nissan Leaf and the
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, the Model S has both received mixed reviews from critics and a ...
. The study found that all-electric cars representative of those sold today, on average produce less than half the global warming emissions of comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, despite taken into account the higher emissions associated with BEV manufacturing. Considering the regions where the two most popular electric cars are being sold, excess manufacturing emissions are offset within 6 to 16 months of average driving. The study also concluded that driving an average EV results in lower global warming emissions than driving a gasoline car that gets in regions covering two-thirds of the U.S. population, up from 45% in 2009. Based on where EVs are being sold in the United States in 2015, the average EV produces global warming emissions equal to a gasoline vehicle with a fuel economy rating. The authors identified two main reason for the fact that EV-related emissions have become even lower in many parts of the country since the first study was conducted in 2012. Electricity generation has been getting cleaner, as coal-fired generation has declined while lower-carbon alternatives have increased. In addition, electric cars are becoming more efficient. For example, the Nissan Leaf and the
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
, have undergone improvements to increase their efficiencies compared to the original models launched in 2010, and other even more efficient BEV models, such as the most lightweight and efficient
BMW i3 The BMW i3 is an electric car that was manufactured by German marque BMW from 2013 to 2022. The i3 was BMW's first mass-produced zero-emissions vehicle, zero emissions vehicle and was launched as part of BMW's electric vehicle ''BMW i'' sub-bra ...
, have entered the market.


Marginal emissions

When computing the short-term impact of additional EVs on the grid, the additional greenhouse gas emissions are better estimated using not the average emissions of the grid at a location, but instead the additional (marginal) emissions caused by the extra demand. The former approach does not take into account the generation mix within interconnected electricity markets and shifting load profiles throughout the day. Published on line 2014-03-24. See pp. 251 An analysis by three economist affiliated with the
National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic co ...
(NBER), published in 2014, developed a methodology to estimate marginal emissions of electricity demand that vary by location and time of day across the United States. The study used emissions and consumption data for 2007 through 2009, and used the specifications for the
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
(
all-electric range All-electric range (AER) is the maximum driving range of an electric vehicle using only power from its on-board battery pack to traverse a given driving cycle. In the case of a Battery electric vehicle (BEV), it means the maximum range per rech ...
of ). The analysis found that marginal emission rates are more than three times as large in the
Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...
compared to the Western U.S., and within regions, rates for some hours of the day are more than twice those for others. Applying the results of the marginal analysis to plug-in electric vehicles, the NBER researchers found that the emissions of charging PEVs vary by region and hours of the day. In some regions, such as the Western U.S. and Texas, emissions per mile from driving PEVs are less than those from driving a hybrid car. However, in other regions, such as the Upper Midwest, charging during the recommended hours of midnight to 4 a.m. implies that PEVs generate more emissions per mile than the average car currently on the road. The results show a fundamental tension between electricity load management and environmental goals as the hours when electricity is the least expensive to produce tend to be the hours with the greatest emissions. This occurs because coal-fired units, which have higher emission rates, are most commonly used to meet base-level and off-peak electricity demand; while natural gas units, which have relatively low emissions rates, are often brought online to meet peak demand. This pattern of fuel shifting explains why emission rates tend to be higher at night and lower during periods of peak demand in the morning and evening.


Environmental footprint

In February 2014, the Automotive Science Group (ASG) published the result of a study conducted to assess the life-cycle of over 1,300 automobiles across nine categories sold in North America. The study found that among advanced automotive technologies, the Nissan Leaf holds the smallest life-cycle environmental footprint of any model year 2014 automobile available in the North American market with minimum four-person occupancy. The study concluded that the increased environmental impacts of manufacturing the battery electric technology is more than offset with increased environmental performance during operational life. For the assessment, the study used the average electricity mix of the U.S. grid in 2014. In the 2014
mid-size car Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in ...
s category, the Leaf also ranked as the best all-around performance, best environmental and best social performance. The Ford Focus Electric, within the 2014
compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class—predominantly used in North America—that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, before ...
s category, ranked as the best all-around performance, best environmental and best social performance. The
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, the Model S has both received mixed reviews from critics and a ...
ranked as the best environmental performance in the 2014
full-size car Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars. It is the largest size class for cars. In the United Kingdom, this class is referred to as ...
s category.


Charging infrastructure

As of February 2020, the United States had 84,866 charging points across the country, up from 19,472 in December 2013. ''The AFDC counts electric charging units or points, or EVSE, as one for each outlet available, and does not include residential electric charging infrastructure''.
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
led with 26,219 stations, followed by New York with 4,541. There were 592
CHAdeMO CHAdeMO is a electric vehicle charging, fast-charging system for battery electric vehicles, developed in 2010 by the CHAdeMO Association, formed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company and five major Japanese automakers. The name is an abbreviation o ...
quick charging stations across the country by April 2014. Among the charging networks are Electrify America, launched in May 2019 as part of VW's settlement for the Dieselgate emissions scandal, and the Electric Highway Coalition, announced in March 2021, a group of six major power utilities in the Southeast and Midwest installing EV charging across 16 states, with the first chargers targeted for opening in 2022.
Car2Go Share Now GmbH was a German carsharing company, formed from the merger of Car2Go and DriveNow. Since 2022, it was an subsidiary of the Free2Move division of multinational automaker Stellantis providing carsharing services in urban areas in Europ ...
made
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
the only North American city with an all-electric
carsharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
fleet when it launched service in 2011. , the carsharing service has 40,000 members and 400 all-electric Smart EDs in operation. However, due to lack of enough charging infrastructure Car2Go decided to replace all of its all-electric car fleet with gasoline-powered cars starting on 1 May 2016. When the carsharing service started Car2Go expected 1,000 charging stations to be deployed around the city, but only 400 were in place by early 2016. As a result, an average of 20% of the carsharing fleet is unavailable at any given time because the cars are either being charged or because they don't have enough electricity in them to be driven. Also, many of the company's San Diego members say they often worry their Car2Go will run out of charge before they finish their trip. Car2Go merged with ReachNow into Share Now, which closed its North American operations in February 2020.


Charging stations by state

EV Charging by State


Plug-in Electric Vehicle Readiness Index

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs developed an index that identifies and ranks the municipal plug-in electric vehicle readiness ("PEV readiness"). The evaluation ranked the U.S. 25 largest cities by population along with five other large cities that have been included in other major PEV studies. The rankings also included the largest cities in states that joined California zero-emissions vehicle goal. A total of 36 major U.S. cities were included in the study. The evaluation found that
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
ranks at the top of the list of major American cities that are the most ready to accommodate plug-in electric vehicles. Readiness is the degree to which adoption of electric vehicles is supported, as reflected in the presence of various types of policy instruments, infrastructure development, municipal investments in PEV technology, and participation in relevant stakeholder coalitions. The study also compares cities within states that participate in the Zero Emission Vehicle program, with those that do not, with the objective to understand whether participation in that program has a meaningful impact on PEV readiness. In order to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), many municipalities, along with their parent states, offer a variety of benefits to owners and operators of PEVs to make PEV adoption easier and more affordable. All six cities in the top of the ranking offer purchase incentives for PEVs and charging equipment. Four of the six offer time-of-use electricity rates, which makes overnight charging more affordable. The top-ranking cities also score well in categories such as public charging station density, special parking privileges, access to high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, and streamlined processes for installing charging equipment. Those services and incentives are largely absent from the bottom six cities. The following is the full ranking of the 36 U.S. cities in 25 states included in the evaluation of PEV readiness:


Issues


Weight of EVs

EVs tend to be heavier than internal combustion vehicles due to the large batteries. This means higher emissions as well as increasing the cost of road maintenance. The heavy weights of electric vehicles also arises safety issues - larger cars cause more damage to pedestrians, people on bikes, and lighter vehicles.


Solving the wrong problem

While EVs may directly help decrease carbon emissions, they do not solve any of the other problems with cars. They still create congestion, use up valuable city space, require large parking lots, promote suburban sprawl, and create many other issues within cities. For these other issues, it is important to have a strong public transport system, which can reduce the need for cars in the first place, and can lead to a better quality of life for the majority.


Markets and sales


National market

, cumulative sales of highway legal plug-in electric cars in the U.S. totaled 4,684,128 units since 2010. Sales totaled 1,402,371 units in 2023, with a market share of 9.1%. This was the first time the American market surpassed the 1 million sales mark. , the American stock represented 20% of the global plug-in car fleet in use, down from about 40% in 2014. Sales in the American market are led by California with 1 million plug-in cars registered by November 2021, 46% of the national stock. , the United States had the world's largest stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, and led annual plug-in car sales in calendar year 2014. By May 2016, the European stock of light-duty had surpassed the U.S. '', cumulative sales by country are led by the United States with a stock of more than 460,000 highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles delivered since 2008. China ranks second with almost 390,000 units sold since 2011, followed by Japan with over 150,000 plug-ins sold between 2009 and April 2016. Europe is the largest regional market with more than 500,000 plug-in electric passenger cars and vans registered through May 2016.'' By the end of September 2016, the Chinese stock of plug-in passenger cars reached the level of the American plug-in stock, '', the U.S. and China are technically tied for first place as the world's largest plug-in passenger car market. The U.S. has cumulative plug-in car sales of 522,519 units while China has 521,649 domestically produced plug-in cars. Europe is still the world's largest regional market with almost 50,000 more units sold that both countries, totaling about 570,000 light-duty plug-in vehicles.'' and by November 2016, China's cumulative total plug-in passenger vehicles sales had surpassed those of Europe, allowing China to become the market with the world's largest stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles. '', cumulative sales of plug-in electric vehicles in China totaled 846,447 units, including passenger and commercial vehicles, making the country the world's leader in overall plug-in electric vehicle sales. With cumulative sales of about 600,000 plug-in electric passenger cars through November 2016, China is also the global leader in the plug-in passenger vehicle segment, ahead of Europe and the U.S.'' China also surpassed both the U.S. and Europe in terms of annual sales of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles since 2015. National sales increased from 17,800 units delivered in 2011 to 53,200 during 2012, and reached 97,100 in 2013, up 83% from the previous year. ''See Table 6.5: Hybrid and Plug-in Vehicle Sales, 1999-2013, pp. 6-9''. During 2014 plug-in electric car sales totaled 123,347 units, up 27.0% from 2013, and fell to 114,248 units in 2015, down 7.4% from 2014. ''Plug-in electric car sales in the U.S. totaled 114,248 units in 2015, consisting of 71,105 all-electric cars and 43,143 plug-in hybrids, with corresponding market shares of 0.25% and 0.41%. Sales in 2014 totaled 123,347 units.'' A total of 157,181 plug-in cars were sold in 2016, up 37.6% from 2015, ''Plug-in electric car sales in the U.S. totaled 157,181 units, consisting of 84,246 all-electric cars and 72,935 plug-in hybrids. The plug-in car segment achieved a market share of 0.90% of new car sales. December sales totaled 23,288 units with a market share of 1.39%. The top selling model in 2016 was the Tesla Model S with 29,156 units sold, followed by the Chevrolet Volt (24,739) and the Tesla Model X (18,028).'' rose to 199,818 in 2017, and achieved a record sales volume of 361,307 units in 2018. Sales declined in 2019 to 329,528 units. The
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...
of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% in 2011 to 0.37% in 2012, 0.62% in 2013, and reached 0.75% of new car sales in 2014. ''See the section: U.S. Plug-in Electric sales for December 2012. A total of 53,172 plug-in electric vehicles were sold during 2012. Sales of the Fisker Karma, Coda and Wheego are not included in this figure, because these carmakers does not report monthly sales on a regular basis. Tesla Model S sales are estimated.'' As plug-in car sales slowed down during the 2015, the segment's market share fell to 0.66% of new car sales, then increased to 0.90% in 2016. ''Plug-in electric car sales in the U.S. totaled 157,181 units, up 37.6% from 2015 (114,248). The plug-in car segment achieved an all-time high market share of 0.90% of new car sales in 2016. The top selling model for the second year in a row was the Tesla Model S with 29,156 units sold in 2016, followed by the Chevrolet Volt (24,739), Tesla Model X (18,028), Ford Energi Fusion (15,938), and the Nissan Leaf (14,006). , cumulative sales totaled 570,187 plug-in cars since 2008, with the Chevrolet Volt as the all-time best selling plug-in car with 113,489 units. The Tesla Model S ranks third with an estimated 92,317 units since its inception in 2012.'' The market share passed the 1% mark for the first time in 2017 (1.13%). Then in 2018 the take-rate rose to 2.1%, but declined to 1.9% in 2019. In July 2016, the Volt became the first plug-in vehicle in the American market to achieve the 100,000 unit sales milestone. '', around 117,000 units of the Volt/Ampera family have been sold globally, including close to 10,000 Opel/Vauxhall Ampera variants sold in Europe. Volt sales in the American market passed the 100,000 milestone in July 2016.'' Leaf sales achieved the 100,000 unit milestone in October 2016, becoming the first all-electric vehicle in the country to pass that mark. ''Since December 2010, about 239,000 Leafs have been sold worldwide through September 2016. The U.S. is the world's largest market with 100,241 units sold through October 2016. Ranking second is Japan with 69,833 units followed by Europe with about 63,000 units, both, through September 2016.'' The Model S achieved the mark of 100,000 sales in the U.S. in June 2017, launched in June 2012, the Model S hit this milestone quicker than both the Volt and the Leaf. Launched in July 2017, the
Tesla Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric powered Mid-size car, mid-size sedan with a fastback body style built by Tesla, Inc., introduced in 2017. The vehicle is marketed as being more affordable to more people than pr ...
reached the 100,000 unit milestone in November 2018, hitting this milestone quicker than any previous model sold in the U.S. , the
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power so ...
listed as the all-time best selling plug-in electric car with 152,144 units of both generations. ''The Chevrolet Volt is the best selling plug-in electric car in the U.S. with 152,144 units sold through the end of 2018.'' The Model S was the best selling plug-in car in the U.S. for three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017, and the Model 3 topped sales in 2018 and 2019. The Model 3 surpassed in 2019 the discontinued Chevrolet Volt to become the all-time best selling plug-in car in U.S. history, with an estimated 300,471 units delivered since inception, followed by the
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, the Model S has both received mixed reviews from critics and a ...
all-electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...
with about 157,992, and the Chevrolet Volt with 157,054.


Sales by powertrain

, cumulative sales of plug-in electric vehicles in the U.S. since December 2010 were led by plug-in hybrids, with 150,946 units sold representing 52.7% of all plug-in car sales, while 135,444 all-electric cars (47.3%) had been delivered to retail customers. During 2015, the all-electric segment grew much faster, with a total of 72,303 all-electric cars sold, up 6.6% year-on-year, while plug-in hybrid were down 22.4% year-on-year, with 42,959 units sold. These results reversed the trend, and , a total of 206,508 all-electric cars and 193,904 plug-in hybrids have been sold since 2010, with all-electrics now representing 51.6% of cumulative sales. The lead of battery electric cars continued in 2016, with 84,246 all-electrics sold, up 18.4% from 2015, representing 53.6% of the plug-in segment 2016 sales, while sales of plug-in hybrids totaled 72,935 unis, up 69.1% from 2015. , the distribution of cumulative sales since 2010 between these two technologies is 52.8% all-electrics and 47.2% plug-in hybrids.


Sales growth

Sales of series production plug-in cars during its first two years in the U.S. market were lower than the initial expectations. Cumulative plug-in electric car sales since 2008 reached the 250,000 units in August 2014, '', sales are led by the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid with 67,698 units, followed by the Nissan Leaf electric car with 61,063 units. The total of 250,609 units sold includes 1,800 Roadsters, 1,600 Fisker Karmas, and 500 Mini Es usually not captured by most statistics.'' 500,000 in August 2016, ''See other figures in graphs.'' and the one million goal was achieved in September 2018. According to the
U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...
, combined sales of plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars are climbing more rapidly and outselling by more than double sales of hybrid-electric vehicles over their respective 24 month introductory periods, as shown in the graph at the right. ''See pp. 5''. A more detailed analysis by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy over the same two-year introductory periods found that except for the initial months in the market, monthly sales of the Volt and the Leaf have been higher than the Prius HEV, and the Prius PHEV has outsold the regular Prius during its 8 months in the market. Over the first 24 months from introduction, the Prius HEV achieved monthly sales of over 1,700 in month 18, the Leaf achieved about 1,700 units in month 7, the Prius PHEV achieved nearly 1,900 sales in month 8, and the Volt achieved more than 2,900 sales in month 23. A 2016 analysis by the
Consumer Federation of America The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance consumer interests through research, education and advocacy. The CFA's website states that its members are nearly 300 consumer-oriented non-profits, ...
(CFA) found that 5 years after its introduction, sales of plug-in electric cars in the U.S. continued to outsell conventional hybrids. The analysis considered sales between January 2011 and December 2015. An analysis by
Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...
found a similar trend at the international level when considering the global top selling PEVs over a 36-month introductory period. Monthly sales of the Volt, Prius PHV and Leaf are performing better than the conventional Prius during their respective introductory periods, with the exception of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which has been outsold most of the time by the Prius HEV over their 36-month introductory periods.


Key market features

According to
Edmunds.com Edmunds.com Inc. (stylized as edmunds) is an American online resource for automotive inventory and information, including expert car reviews based on testing at the company's private facility. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, Califo ...
, leasing of plug-in cars instead of purchasing is dominant in the American market, with leasing accounting for 51% of all new all-electric cars and 73% of plug-in hybrids, compared with just 32% of gasoline-powered cars in 2016. , the market of used plug-in electric cars is concentrated in California, the state with the biggest pool of used plug-in vehicles, especially all-electrics, followed by Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New York, Oregon and Texas. With the exception of used Teslas, all models depreciate more rapidly than conventionally powered cars and trucks. For all-electric cars depreciation varies from 60% to 75% in three years. In contrast, most conventionally powered vehicles in the same period depreciate between 45% and 50%. The Tesla Model S is more like conventional cars, with three-year depreciation of about 40%. And plug-in hybrids depreciate less than all-electric cars but still depreciate faster than conventionally powered cars. Researchers from the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
, conducted a study to identify the factors influencing the decision to adopt high-end battery electric vehicles (BEV), such as the Tesla Model S, as these vehicles are remarkably different from mainstream BEVs. Based on a questionnaire responded by 539 high-end adopters and in-depth interviews with 33 adopters, the 2016 study found that "environmental, performance, and technological motivations are reasons for adoption; the new technology brings a new segment of buyers into the market; and financial purchase incentives are not important in the consumer’s decision to adopt a high-end BEV."


Car dealers' reluctance to sell

With the exception of
Tesla Motors Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from hom ...
, almost all new cars in the United States are sold through dealerships, so they play a crucial role in the sales of electric vehicles, and negative attitudes can hinder early adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Dealers decide which cars they want to stock, and a salesperson can have a big impact on how someone feels about a prospective purchase. Sales people have ample knowledge of internal combustion cars while they do not have time to learn about a technology that represents a fraction of overall sales. As with any new technology, and in the particular case of advanced technology vehicles, retailers are central to ensuring that buyers, especially those switching to a new technology, have the information and support they need to gain the full benefits of adopting this new technology. A 2016 study indicated that 60% of Americans were not aware of electric cars. There are several reasons for the reluctance of some dealers to sell plug-in electric vehicles. PEVs do not offer car dealers the same profits as gasoline-powered cars. Plug-in electric vehicles take more time to sell because of the explaining required, which hurts overall sales and sales people commissions. Electric vehicles also may require less maintenance, resulting in loss of service revenue, and thus undermining the biggest source of dealer profits, their service departments. According to the
National Automobile Dealers Association The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is an American trade organization representing nearly 16,500 franchised new car and truck dealerships, both domestic and foreign. Established in 1917, the organization is based in Tysons Corner ...
(NADS), dealers on average make three times as much profit from service as they do from new car sales. However, a NADS spokesman said there was not sufficient data to prove that electric cars would require less maintenance. According to
the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
and
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
are among the companies whose dealers tend to be more enthusiastic and informed, but only about 10% of dealers are knowledgeable on the new technology. A study conducted at the
Institute of Transportation Studies The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at the University of California's Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, and Los Angeles campuses are centers for research, education, and scholarship in the fields of transportation planning and engineering. Facul ...
(ITS), at the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
(UC Davis) published in 2014 found that many car dealers are less than enthusiastic about plug-in vehicles. ITS conducted 43 interviews with six automakers and 20 new car dealers selling plug-in vehicles in California's major metro markets. The study also analyzed national and state-level J.D. Power 2013 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) study data on customer satisfaction with new car dealerships and Tesla retail stores. The researchers found that buyers of plug-in electric vehicles were significantly less satisfied and rated the dealer purchase experience much lower than buyers of non-premium conventional cars, while Tesla Motors earned industry-high scores. According to the findings, plug-in buyers expect more from dealers than conventional buyers, including product knowledge and support that extends beyond traditional offerings. In 2014 ''
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...
'' published results from a survey conducted with 19 secret shoppers that went to 85 dealerships in four states, making anonymous visits between December 2013 and March 2014. The secret shoppers asked a number of specific questions about cars to test the salespeople's knowledge about electric cars. The consumer magazine decided to conduct the survey after several consumers who wanted to buy a plug-in car reported to the organization that some dealerships were steering them toward gasoline-powered models. The survey found that not all sales people seemed enthusiastic about making PEV sales; a few outright discouraged it, and even one dealer was reluctant to even show a plug-in model despite having one in stock. And many sales people seemed not to have a good understanding of electric-car tax breaks and other incentives or of charging needs and costs. ''Consumer Reports'' also found that when it came to answering basic questions, sales people at
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
, Ford, and Nissan dealerships tended to be better informed than those at
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
and
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
. The survey found that most of the Toyota dealerships visited recommended against buying a Prius Plug-in and suggested buying a standard Prius hybrid instead. Overall, the secret shoppers reported that only 13 dealers "discouraged sale of EV," with seven of them being in New York. However, at 35 of the 85 dealerships visited, the secret shoppers said sales people recommended buying a gasoline-powered car instead. The ITS-Davis study also found that a small but influential minority of dealers have introduced new approaches to better meet the needs of plug-in customers. Examples include marketing carpool lane stickers, enrolling buyers in charging networks, and preparing incentive paperwork for customers. Some dealers assign seasoned sales people as plug-in experts, many of whom drive plug-ins themselves to learn and be familiar with the technology and relate the cars' benefits to potential buyers. The study concluded also that carmakers could do much more to support dealers selling PEVs.


Regional markets


Concentration relative to population

, the U.S. average concentration was 1.51 plug-in cars registered per 1,000 people, while California's concentration was 5.83 registrations per 1,000 people. At the time, only Norway exceeded California's plug-in concentration
per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...
, by 3.69 times. '', California's plug-in car concentration was 5.83 registrations per 1,000 people, the U.S. was 1.51 per 1,000. Norway exceeds California by 3.69 times, California narrowly outpaces the Netherlands by 1.04 times.'' '', Norway had a concentration of registered plug-in cars per 1,000 people of 21.52, the Netherlands of 5.63, California of 5.83, and the United States national average was 1.52.'' , the average national ownership
per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...
rose to 2.21 plug-ins per 1,000 people. In 2017 eight states had more than two plug-in vehicles registered per 1,000 people, of which, three are located in the West Coast.
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
had the highest concentration with 8.64 plug-ins per 1,000 people.
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
ranked second (5.12) followed by Washington (4.06),
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
(3.84)
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
(3.73),
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
(2.33),
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
(2.29), and
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
(2.03).
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
(0.20),
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
(0.28),
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
(0.30),
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
(0.31),
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
(0.37), and
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
(0.39) had the lowest concentration of plug-in cars in 2017. In terms of growth from 2016 to 2017 for plug-in vehicle registrations per capita, five states had growth rates of 50% or higher: Vermont (56.4%) Maryland (54.2%),
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
(52.5%),
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
(50.2%), and Alaska (50.0%). The U.S. average growth rate from 2016 to 2017 was 30.2%.


Market share by city and state

The following table summarizes the ten states and
metropolitan areas A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...
leading all-electric car adoption in terms of their market share of new light-vehicle registrations or sales during 2013 and 2014. A total of 52% of American plug-in electric car registrations from January to May 2013 were concentrated in five metropolitan areas:
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
(19.5%),
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
(15.4%),
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
(8.0%),
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
(4.6%) and
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
(4.4%). From January to July 2013, the three cities with the highest all-electric car registrations were all located in California, Atherton and Los Altos in the
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
, followed by
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, located in
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
.


Sales by model

, there were 43 highway legal plug-in cars available in the American market for retail sales, 15 all-electric cars and 28 plug-in hybrids, plus several models of electric motorcycles, utility vans and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs). , sales were concentrated to a few models, with the top 10 best selling plug-in cars accounting for about 84% of total sales during the first eleven months of 2018. Car manufacturers are offering plug-in electric cars in the U.S. for retail customers under 21 brands or marques:
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
,
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
,
Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...
,
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
,
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
,
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
, Ford,
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
, Hyundai,
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
, Kia,
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
,
MINI The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...
,
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
,
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
,
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
,
Smart ''SMart'' was a British CBBC television programme based on art, which began in 1994 and ended in 2009. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London. Previously it had been recorded in Studio A at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingha ...
, Tesla,
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
,
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
, and
Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...
. , only the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Tesla's Model S and Model X, BMW i3, Mitsubishi i, Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, Cadillac ELR, and Ford's C-Max and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids were available nationwide. Several models, such as the Toyota RAV4, Fiat 500e, Honda Fit EV, and Chevrolet Spark EV, are compliance cars sold in limited markets, mainly California, available in order to raise an automaker's fleet average fuel economy to satisfy regulator requirements. , the top selling plug-in car manufacturers in the American market are Tesla with about 269,000 units delivered, GM with 203,941,
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
with 126,875 units, Ford with 111,715,
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
with 93,011 and the
BMW Group Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The ...
with 79,679 plug-in electric cars.


Top selling models

The Nissan Leaf was the U.S. top selling plug-in car in 2011 (9,674), and the Chevrolet Volt topped sales in 2012 (23,461). Again in 2013, sales were led by the Chevrolet Volt with 23,094 units, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 22,610 cars, and the Tesla Model S with about 18,000 units. In 2013 the Model S was the top selling car in the American full-size luxury sedan category, ahead of the
Mercedes-Benz S-Class The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, formerly known as "special class" (), is a series of full-sized luxury vehicle, luxury sedans and Coupe, coupés produced by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz. The S-Class is the designation for top-of-the-line Mercede ...
(13,303), the top selling car in the category in 2012. ''Almost 18,000 units were sold in the U.S. in 2013.'' In 2014 the Leaf took the sales lead, with 30,200 units sold, with the Volt ranking second with 18,805, followed by the Model S with 16,689 units. The Tesla Model S, with 25,202 units delivered, was the top selling plug-in car in 2015, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 17,269 units, and the Volt with 15,393. Again in 2016, the Model S was the best selling plug-in car with about 29,156 units delivered, followed by the Volt with 24,739, and the Model X with about 18,028. For the third consecutive year, the Tesla Model S was the top selling plug-in car with about 26,500 units sold in 2017, followed by the Chevrolet Bolt (23,297), Tesla Model X (~21,700). ''The top 5 selling models in the U.S. in 2017 were the Tesla Model S with about 26,500 units, followed by the Chevrolet Bolt (23,297), Tesla Model X (~21,700), Toyota Prius Prime (20,936), and the Chevrolet Volt (20,349). The five best sellers accounted for 112,782 sales out of the 194,479 (58%).'' Sales in 2018 were led by the
Tesla Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric powered Mid-size car, mid-size sedan with a fastback body style built by Tesla, Inc., introduced in 2017. The vehicle is marketed as being more affordable to more people than pr ...
with an estimated 139,782 units delivered, the first time a plug-in car sold more than 100 thousand units in a single year. Ranking next were the Toyota Prius Prime (27,595) and the Tesla Model X (~26,100). Sales in 2019 were topped again by the Tesla Model 3 with an estimated 158,925 units delivered, followed by the Toyota Prius Prime (23,630), the Tesla Model X (19,225), the Chevrolet Bolt EV (16,418) and the Tesla Model S (14,100). The following table presents cumulative sales of the all-time top 10 best-selling highway-capable plug-in electric cars launched in the American market since 2008, with sales through December 2020.


Neighborhood electric vehicles

Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs) are defined as "four-wheeled motor vehicles whose top speed is to be used in residential areas, planned communities, industrial sites, and other areas with low density traffic, and low-speed zones." LSVs, more commonly known as neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs), were defined in 1998 by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...
's ''Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 500'', which required safety features such as windshields and seat belts, but not doors or side walls.Alternative Transport Vehicles
/ref> Since 1998 Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), the market leader in North America, has sold more than 50,000 GEM battery-electric vehicles worldwide .


Modern production timeline

This is a list of all highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles available for retail customers in the U.S. for sale or leasing since the early 1990s.


1990-2003

* Chrysler TEVan (1993-1995) * General Motors EV1 (1996-2003) *
Toyota RAV4 EV The Toyota RAV4 EV is an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 SUV produced by Toyota until 2014. Two generations of the EV model were sold in California, and to fleets elsewhere in the US, with a gap of almost ten years between them. The ...
(1997-2003) * Honda EV Plus (1997-1999) * Nissan Altra (1998-2001) * Dodge Caravan EPIC (1999 to 2001) * Ford TH!NK City (1999-2003)


2008-2016

;2008 * Tesla Roadster (production ended in 2011) ;2009 * Mini E (demonstration program ended in 2011) ;2010 *
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the ...
(production ended in 2019) *
Nissan Leaf The is a battery-electric car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010. It was offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback until 2025, which since then has become a crossover SUV model. The term "LEAF" serves as a backronym to ''leading envir ...
* Navistar eStar utility van (production ended in 2013) ;2011 * Th!nk City (production ended in 2012) * Smart ED 2nd gen (available for leasing only) * Wheego Whip LiFe (no longer in production) *
Fisker Karma The Fisker Karma is a luxury vehicle, luxury plug-in Range extender (vehicle), range-extended electric sports sedan produced by Fisker Automotive between 2011 and 2012. The cars were manufactured at Valmet Automotive in Finland. The United St ...
(production ended in 2012) * Azure Transit Connect Electric delivery van (no longer in production) * Mitsubishi i (Mitsubishi i MiEV in the rest of the world) * Smith Newton delivery truck ;2012 * BMW ActiveE (demonstration program ended in 2014) * Coda (no longer in production) * Ford Focus Electric (limited production) * Toyota Prius PHV (production ended in 2015) * Boulder DV-500 (limited production) * Amp Electric Vehicles (SUV and light truck conversions) *
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, the Model S has both received mixed reviews from critics and a ...
* Honda Fit EV (limited production) * Toyota RAV4 EV (2nd gen) (limited production) * Ford C-Max Energi (production ended in 2018) ;2013 * Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid * Ford Fusion Energi (production ended in 2020) * Scion iQ EV (limited production available only for
carsharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
fleets, not for retail customers) * Smart electric drive / EQ fortwo (available with battery leasing option, production ended in 2024) * Chevrolet Spark EV (limited production) *
Fiat 500e The Fiat 500e (project 332), also known as the 500 elettrica or New 500 is a hybrid or battery-electric car by Italian manufacturer Fiat as the third generation of its 500 city cars, following the original 500 (1957–1975) and second-genera ...
(production ended in 2019) * Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid *
Cadillac ELR The Cadillac ELR is a two-door, four-passenger luxury car, luxury plug-in hybrid compact car, compact coupé manufactured and marketed by Cadillac for model years, model years (MY) 2014 and 2016 – with a hiatus for MY 2015. Using a retuned vers ...
(limited production) ;2014 *
BMW i3 The BMW i3 is an electric car that was manufactured by German marque BMW from 2013 to 2022. The i3 was BMW's first mass-produced zero-emissions vehicle, zero emissions vehicle and was launched as part of BMW's electric vehicle ''BMW i'' sub-bra ...
(production ended in 2022) *
Porsche 918 Spyder The Porsche 918 Spyder is a high performance sports car manufactured by German marque Porsche. The 918 Spyder is a plug-in hybrid powered by a mid-mounted naturally aspirated V8 engine, developing at 8,700RPM, with two electric motors deliveri ...
(limited edition) * Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive (production ended in 2019) * BMW i8 (production ended in 2020) * Volkswagen e-Golf (production ended in 2020) * Kia Soul EV * Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid ;2015 * Mercedes-Benz S 500 Plug-in Hybrid * Volvo XC 90 PHEV * Tesla Model X * Bolloré Bluecar (available only for the BlueIndy carsharing fleet - ended in 2020) * BMW X5 xDrive40e (Replaced with the xDrive50e) * Hyundai Sonata PHEV * Audi A3 Sportback e-tron * Audi Q7 e-tron Quattro ;2016 * BMW 330e iPerformance * Mercedes-Benz GLE 550e Plug-in Hybrid * Toyota Prius Prime / Prius Plug-In Hybrid (second generation Prius PHEV) * Chevrolet Bolt EV (production ended in 2023) * BMW 740e iPerformance * Mercedes-Benz C 350e Plug-in Hybrid


2017-2025

;2017 * Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid * BMW 530e iPerformance *
Tesla Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric powered Mid-size car, mid-size sedan with a fastback body style built by Tesla, Inc., introduced in 2017. The vehicle is marketed as being more affordable to more people than pr ...
* Kia Optima PHEV (production ended in 2019 * Honda Clarity Electric (production ended in 2019) * Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid (production ended in 2021) * Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid * Mini Countryman Cooper S E ALL4 (production ended in 2023) * Hyundai Ioniq Electric (production ended in 2022) * Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid * Volvo S90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid * Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV ;2018 * Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in (production ended in 2022) * Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e 4MATIC * Karma Revero (updated version of the Fisker Karma) * Jaguar I-Pace (production ended in 2024) ;2019 * Hyundai Kona Electric * Subaru Crosstrek Plug-in Hybrid (production ended in 2023) * Kia e-Niro / Niro EV * Audi e-tron / Q8 e-tron (production ended in 2025) * Mercedes-Benz EQC (production ended in 2023) * Porsche Taycan ;2020 * Audi Q5 55 TFSIe * Toyota RAV4 Prime / RAV4 PHEV *
Tesla Model Y The Tesla Model Y is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric compact crossover SUV produced by Tesla, Inc. since 2020. The vehicle was presented in March 2019 as the company's fifth production model since its inception after the Tesla Road ...
*
Fiat 500e The Fiat 500e (project 332), also known as the 500 elettrica or New 500 is a hybrid or battery-electric car by Italian manufacturer Fiat as the third generation of its 500 city cars, following the original 500 (1957–1975) and second-genera ...
* ElectraMeccanica SOLO (
three-wheeler A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles. Ove ...
, production ended in 2023) *
Ford Mustang Mach-E The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric compact crossover SUV produced by Ford Motor Company, Ford. Introduced on November 17, 2019, it went on sale in December 2020 as a 2021 model. The Mach-E is part of the F ...
* Volvo V60 PHEV Engine Polestar * Volvo S60 Plug-in Hybrid * Polestar 1 *
Polestar 2 The Polestar 2 is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric 5-door liftback marketed by Polestar, an affiliate of Geely Holding and Volvo Cars. Based on the Compact Modular Architecture platform, CMA platform, production began in March 2020 ...
*
BMW iX3 The BMW X3 is an SUV manufactured by BMW since 2003, based on the BMW 3 Series platform. BMW markets the car as a ''Sports Activity Vehicle'', the company's proprietary descriptor for its X-line luxury vehicles. The first-generation X3 was des ...
;2021 * Volkswagen ID.4 * Volvo XC40 Recharge * Chevrolet Bolt EUV * Ford Escape PHEV * Jeep Wrangler 4xe * Lexus NX 450h+ * Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring PHEV * Lucid Air * Mazda MX-30 * Rivian R1T
pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...
* GMC Hummer EV *
Hyundai Ioniq 5 The Hyundai Ioniq 5 () is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric compact crossover SUV produced by Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai since 2021. It is the first product to be marketed under the Ioniq sub-brand, and the first model developed ...
* Kia EV6 * BMW i4 * BMW iX * Mercedes-Benz EQB * Mercedes-Benz EQS * Volvo C40 Recharge / EC40 * Audi Q4 e-tron * Genesis Electrified G80 * Genesis GV60 * Mercedes-Benz EQA * Rivian EDV 2022 * Nissan Ariya * Ford F-150 Lightning * Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV * Cadillac Lyriq * Alfa Romeo Tonale / Dodge Hornet R/T *
Chevrolet BrightDrop The Chevrolet BrightDrop, formerly the BrightDrop Zevo, is a battery electric delivery van produced by General Motors (GM). It was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 12, 2021, under the BrightDrop brand, with production begin ...
(formerly BrightDrop Zevo) * Lordstown Endurance (limited production) * Toyota bZ4X / bZ * Lexus RX 450h+ * Lexus TX 550h+ * Subaru Solterra * Fisker Ocean (production ended 2024) * BMW i7 * BMW iX1 * Genesis Electrified GV70 * Hyundai Ioniq 6 * Mercedes-Benz EQE * Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV * Rivian R1S * Volkswagen ID. Buzz * Ford E-Transit 2023 * Chevrolet Blazer EV * Chevrolet Silverado EV * Tesla Cybertruck * Lexus RZ * Mazda CX-90 PHEV * Audi Q6 e-tron * BMW i5 * Maserati GranTurismo Folgore * Maserati Grecale Folgore * BMW iX2 * Faraday Future FF 91 (limited production) * Kia EV9 * Mini Cooper Countryman SE * Rolls-Royce Spectre 2024 * Chevrolet Equinox EV * Cadillac Escalade IQ * Cadillac Celestiq * Polestar 3 * Volvo EX90 * Lamborghini Urus SE * Honda Prologue *
Bentley Continental GT The Bentley Continental GT is a grand touring car manufactured and marketed by the British company Bentley Motors since 2003. A two-door coupé or convertible, and has four seats, it was the first new Bentley released after the company's acqui ...
* Mazda CX-70 PHEV * Hyundai Ioniq 9 * Acura ZDX *
Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over eight generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. In the United Sta ...
* Jeep Wagoneer S *
Lucid Gravity Lucid Group, Inc., is an American automotive and technology company that manufactures electric vehicles and supplies advanced electric vehicle powertrain systems. The company is headquartered in Newark, California. In September 2021, the compan ...
* Mercedes-Benz G-Class#W465 (2024–present), Mercedes-Benz G580 * Porsche Macan#second, Porsche Macan * Polestar 4 2025 * Cadillac Optiq (began Chinese sale in 2023) * Cadillac Vistiq * Mercedes-Benz CLA#Third generation (C178/174; 2025), Mercedes-Benz CLA


Future cars and trucks (2025-2028)

The following is a list of electric cars and plug-in hybrids with market launch in the United States anticipated up to 2028. *Lexus ES#Eighth generation (XZ20; 2025), Lexus ES *Tesla Roadster (2020), Tesla Roadster second generation *Aptera (solar electric vehicle) *Tesla Cybercab *Jeep Recon *Audi A6 e-tron (began European sale in 2024) *Volkswagen ID.7 (began European sale in 2023) *Polestar 5 *Rivian R2 *Rivian R3 *Subaru Trailseeker *Honda Zero *Toyota C-HR+, Toyota C-HR *Afeela 1 *Acura RSX#Second generation (2026), Acura RSX *Alpine A390


U.S. electric vehicle organizations

*CalCars (The California Cars Initiative)'
Drive Electric Colorado
- partnership o
Colorado Energy Office
and several non-profit advocacy groups
Drive OregonElectric Auto Association of Northern NevadaElectric Auto Association Silicon ValleyElectric Car Society
*Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) (North America)
Humboldt Electric Vehicle AssociationNEDRA National Electric Drive Racing AssociationOregon Electric Vehicle Association
* Plug In America *PHEV Research Center
Project EVIE
*RechargeIT (Google.org) *
Seattle Electric Vehicle Association
*World Electric Vehicle Association
Zero Emission Transportation Association
(ZETA) - industry group advocating for 100% EV sales by 2030; members include various businesses throughout the EV value chain: EV manufacturers (cars, pickups, buses), ride-sharing, EV batteries (raw materials, manufacture, recycling), EV charging, solar EV installation, electric companies.


See also

* CalCars * Plug In America * Electric car use by country * Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles * Hybrid electric vehicles in the United States * List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles * List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles available in the United States * New energy vehicles in China * Plug-in electric vehicles in Canada * Plug-in electric vehicles in Europe * Plug-in electric vehicles in France * Plug-in electric vehicles in Germany * Plug-in electric vehicles in Japan * Plug-in electric vehicles in the Netherlands * Plug-in electric vehicles in Norway * Plug-in electric vehicles in Sweden * Plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom


References


External links


U.S. PEV Sales by Model
Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Data Center,
U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Electric Vehicles In The United States Plug-in hybrid vehicles, United States Electric vehicles in the United States, Electric vehicles by country, United States Road transportation in the United States