The California electric vehicle market is recently showing signs of fatigue amid government efforts to introduce zero-emission cars across the US.
Recent sales report from the California New Car Dealers Association, EV sales in the West Coast has started to plateau after a strong start in the start of 2023.
This is after a huge revenue from 2022 as more automakers unveiled their flagship EVs at short intervals.
Tesla, one of the leading hybrid and EV dealers, recorded a "significant decline in sales" by 10.5% despite the long-awaited Cybertruck release that year.
Mercedes and BMW recorded the highest sales increase in the state at only 2.2% and 2.8 respectively.
Also Read: Electric Vehicles in the US: Is America Truly Ready for Carbon-Free Highways?
California Sales Impact to EV Plan for the US
The slower EV market growth in California is expected to dampen the current administration's plans to cut down smoke-emitting cars by 35% before 2026.
California currently has the most EVs in the US with 1.4 million electric cars with 20.1% of the new car sales being EV.
A slowdown in the top market signals lower confidence from car dealers to also transition their vehicles in the US.
US Not Ready Yet for EVs
According to the Los Angeles Times, the recent stagnation can be point to the unsustainable nature of the current environment for EVs.
Many of the EV charging ports are limited to metropolitan cities with minimal availability outside of major areas. Even inside popular cities, charging ports remain elusive as more EVs roll the streets.
It does not help that incentive programs from the government have also been slowing down as Congress tries to stop the White House from injecting more money towards EV projects.
Of course, there is also the issue of the EVs being much more expensive than only a few can afford.
Car dealers have earlier urged the government to slow down the transition as the market is still not ready for a full shift.
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