California Reports 1 in 5 New Cars Sold in 2022 were Zero-Emission Vehicles

If you’re seeing more electric vehicles on the roads in San Diego, it’s not an optical illusion.

The Governor’s office announced this week that zero-emission vehicles, which include battery electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles, made up 18.8% of sales in 2022.

“California continues to lead the zero-emission vehicle revolution with groundbreaking policies and investments that drive innovation, create good jobs and expand ZEV access and affordability across the state,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Sales in 2022 totaled 345,818 vehicles, up 38% from 2021 and 128% from 2020. Approximately 40% of all zero-emission vehicles sold in the United States last year were in California.

Tesla led all other manufacturers by a wide margin, followed by General Motors and Ford. Here were the top 5 models:

• Tesla Model 3 – 94,683
• Tesla Model Y – 93,872
• Tesla Model X – 13,319
• Tesla Model S – 10,712
• Ford Mustang Mach-E – 9,860
• Chevrolet Bolt EUV – 8,709
• Hyundai IONIQ 5 – 7,519

California also reported that 80,027 chargers for public use are now installed across the state, with most in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, though San Diego County ranked 6th among counties.

Newsom has vowed to end the sale of new gasoline-only cars by 2035 to fight climate change.

“Keeping our focus on the communities that are most impacted by the intensifying climate crisis, we’ll keep pushing ahead to make our clean transportation future a reality in California,” he said.