Getting the EV Industry Charged Up

Electric vehicles (EVs) have had a good year. According to Cox Automotive, EV sales accounted for 7.8 percent of total sales in the first quarter of this year, a significant increase over their 4.8 percent share during the same period in 2020. And though that increase translates to a relatively small number of EVs actually hitting the road, at least compared to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles, opinion research and buying patterns show a rising interest in EVs from American consumers.

At least some of that rising interest is attributable to concern about the environmental impact of ICE vehicles, leading some states to take more action to encourage change. The vast majority of states — 45 and the District of Columbia at last count — offer incentives of one kind or another for the purchase of certain EVs, including tax credits, rebates, reduced registration fees, and exemption from vehicle inspection regulations. Those actions have taken a more overt turn in the last two years. California and Massachusetts have recently committed to requiring all sales of new passenger vehicles be zero-emission by 2035, effectively banning the in-state sale of ICE vehicles. New York is poised to follow, with legislation mandating the shift by 2035 passing both houses of that state’s legislature in April 2021. And these states are only the early adopters. Washington, New Jersey, and Colorado have all expressed interested in an EV-only shift, and other states appear poised to follow.

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