As of March 2022 [update] , there were about 92,000 electric vehicles registered in the U.S. state of Washington. [1] As of 2021 [update] , 7.8% of new vehicle sales in Washington were electric. [2]
In 2021, Washington was ranked by Bumper.com as the best state in the country for electric vehicle ownership. [3]
In April 2021, the state legislature passed a bill requiring all new cars sold by 2030 to be electric; however, it was vetoed by Governor Jay Inslee. [4] The legislature passed another bill again in March 2022, which was signed into law by Inslee, which sets an official target of 2030 for the phase-out of gasoline-powered vehicles, but does not explicitly ban their sale after that date. [5] [6] [7]
In December 2021, Governor Inslee proposed a $7,500 state tax rebate for electric vehicle purchases; however, the rebate failed in the state legislature. [8] [9]
| County | EVs |
|---|---|
| Adams | 35 |
| Asotin | 42 |
| Benton | 1,141 |
| Chelan | 555 |
| Clallam | 648 |
| Clark | 5,309 |
| Columbia | 8 |
| Cowlitz | 477 |
| Douglas | 180 |
| Ferry | 19 |
| Franklin | 295 |
| Garfield | 3 |
| Grant | 250 |
| Grays Harbor | 378 |
| Island | 1,100 |
| Jefferson | 597 |
| King | 47,918 |
| Kitsap | 3,297 |
| Kittitas | 295 |
| Klickitat | 140 |
| Lewis | 404 |
| Lincoln | 25 |
| Mason | 466 |
| Okanogan | 119 |
| Pacific | 131 |
| Pend Oreille | 26 |
| Pierce | 6,965 |
| San Juan | 623 |
| Skagit | 1,086 |
| Skamania | 107 |
| Snohomish | 9,878 |
| Spokane | 2,250 |
| Stevens | 105 |
| Thurston | 3,450 |
| Wahkiakum | 28 |
| Walla Walla | 256 |
| Whatcom | 2,437 |
| Whitman | 138 |
| Yakima | 505 |
As of 2021 [update] , 11.7% of new vehicle sales in King County were electric. [2]
In June 2021, Pierce County passed an ordinance requiring all new homes built from January 2022 to have dedicated parking spaces for electric vehicle charging. [10]
In 2021, the Spokane Police Department purchased its first electric vehicles, with a plan of transitioning the department's fleet to electric by 2030; however, the new vehicles were met with significant pushback from officers, and subsequently withdrawn from the flet. [11] [12]
In March 2022, Spokane introduced a surcharge on gasoline and diesel used by city vehicles. The city plants to convert its entire fleet to electric by 2030. [13]
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car, is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quieter, have no exhaust emissions, and lower emissions overall. In the United States and the European Union, as of 2020, the total cost of ownership of recent electric vehicles is cheaper than that of equivalent ICE cars, due to lower fueling and maintenance costs. Charging an electric car can be done at a variety of charging stations; these charging stations can be installed in both houses and public areas.
A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV), also known as new energy vehicle (NEV) in China, is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity to store electrical power within its onboard rechargeable battery packs, which then powers the electric motor and contributes to propelling the wheels. PEV is a subset of electric vehicles, and includes all-electric/battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). Sales of the first series production plug-in cars began in December 2008 with the introduction of the plug-in hybrid BYD F3DM, and then with the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV in July 2009, but global retail sales only gained traction after the introduction of the mass production all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt in December 2010.
The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is supported by the American federal government, and several states and local governments. As of December 2021, cumulative sales in the U.S. totaled 2.32 million highway legal plug-in electric cars since 2010, led by all-electric cars. 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%).
As of March 2022, there were about 62,000 electric vehicles in New York, accounting for 0.6% of all vehicles in the state.
Electric car use by country varies worldwide, as the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles is affected by consumer demand, market prices, availability of charging infrastructure, and government policies, such as purchase incentives and long term regulatory signals.
Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles have been established around the world to support policy-driven adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. These incentives mainly take the form of purchase rebates, tax exemptions and tax credits, and additional perks that range from access to bus lanes to waivers on fees. The amount of the financial incentives may depend on vehicle battery size or all-electric range. Often hybrid electric vehicles are included. Some countries extend the benefits to fuel cell vehicles, and electric vehicle conversions.
The stock of plug-in electric vehicles in California is the largest in the United States, and as of December 2021, cumulative plug-in car registrations in the state since 2010 totaled 1.072 million units. California is the largest U.S. car market with about 10% of all new car sales in the country, but has accounted for almost half of all plug-in cars sold in the American market since 2011. Since November 2016 and until 2020, China was the only country market that exceeded California in terms of cumulative plug-in electric car sales.
The electric car company Tesla, Inc. has faced dealership disputes in several U.S. states as a result of local laws. In the United States, direct manufacturer auto sales are prohibited in many states by franchise laws requiring that new cars be sold only by independent dealers. Tesla maintains that, to properly explain to their customers the advantages their cars have over "traditional" vehicles with an internal combustion engine, they cannot rely on third-party dealerships to handle their sales.
The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in Australia is driven mostly by state-based electric vehicle targets and monetary incentives to support the adoption and deployment of low- or zero-emission vehicles. The monetary incentives include electric vehicle subsidies, interest-free loans, registration exemptions, stamp duty exemptions, the luxury car tax exemption and discounted parking for both private and commercial purchases. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, energy providers, car loan providers and car insurance providers also offer their own financial incentives for electric vehicle purchases including Macquarie Bank offering the lowest electric car loan of 2.99%.
Phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles means stopping selling and using vehicles which are powered by fossil fuels, such as gasoline (petrol), diesel, kerosene and fuel oil: it is one of the three most important parts of the general fossil fuel phase-out process, the others being the phase-out of fossil fuel power plants for electricity generation and decarbonization of industry.
Coltura is an American environmental activist group based in Seattle, Washington. The group promotes environmental policies and produces cultural works aimed at ending America's use of gasoline, and advocates for policies to phase out the sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030.
The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in New Zealand is driven by incentives and policies devised by the New Zealand Government. The monetary incentives include electric vehicle discounts, exemptions from road user charges and electric vehicle sales targets.
As of May 2022, there were about 129,000 electric vehicles registered in Texas.
As of October 2021, there were about 17,000 electric vehicles in Hawaii, accounting for 1.6% of all passenger vehicles in the state. The state has the second-highest number of electric vehicles per capita in the United States, behind California.
As of January 2022, there were about 125,000 electric vehicles in Florida, equivalent to around 0.77% of all vehicles in the state. As of January 2022, 3.5% of all new vehicles sold in the state were electric.
As of November 2021, there were about 41,000 electric vehicles in Maryland.
As of October 2021, there were about 33,000 electric vehicles in Illinois.
As of 2021, there were about 11,000 electric vehicles in Utah.
As of December 2021, there were about 64,000 electric vehicles in New Jersey.
As of 2021, 1.7% of new vehicles sold in New Mexico were electric.