California Has Far More EV Chargers Than Gas Stations

Final Up to date on: twenty second Might 2025, 01:15 pm

The California Power Fee (CEC) recently published some very attention-grabbing EV gross sales data. Zach already wrote an article about it.

I reached out to the CEC to ask some inquiries to get its perspective on what is occurring within the Golden State. What jumped out within the solutions was one thing of a shocking truth. There are about 178,549 EV charging ports in California. I by no means knew the full variety of CA gasoline stations, so I appeared at present, pondering it have to be a reasonably large quantity. Seems its solely about 15,000 gasoline stations or much less, relying on what supply you employ.

So, California has method, far more EV charging ports than gasoline stations and can proceed so as to add many extra EV chargers. Moreover, the 178,549 EV charging ports whole doesn’t embody the estimated 700,000 EV charging ports in properties.

The extra truthful comparability can be EV charging ports to gasoline nozzles. So, what number of gasoline nozzles in CA? About 120,000, however there are nonetheless much more EV charging ports than that in CA. And, there are extra EV charging ports being added often.

It is extremely apparent to anybody who follows sustainable transportation that there’s a relationship between electrical automobile adoption and charging infrastructure. California has essentially the most EV chargers of any US state and essentially the most electrical autos. EV gross sales are supported by the presence of charging infrastructure. There’s one other beautiful truth bolded and italicized under within the solutions about how the overwhelming majority of Californians stay quite near an EV charger.

CEC workers answered the next questions for CleanTechnica.

Regardless of market disruptions, how are California ZEV gross sales remaining regular?

Customers are buoyed by extra decisions and are feeling assured in California’s rising ZEV infrastructure. 94% of Californians stay inside 10 minutes of an EV charger. The California Power Fee (CEC) is deploying funds to additional broaden the state’s charger community and make sure that EV charging is dependable, inexpensive and accessible to all Californians.

In Q1 2025, CA non-Tesla electrical automobile (EV) registrations grew by 14%.  What drove this progress?

The EV market is diversifying in California, with 147 EV fashions obtainable in Q1, up from 105 fashions in Q1 of final 12 months. What drove this diversification?

For each of those questions, I’ll direct you to Liane Randolph’s quote in our press launch: “California’s clean vehicle market continues to show strong sales, and we are undeterred by this period of limited growth, which is a normal, anticipated part of the technology adoption cycle. The data shows nearly 1 in 4 new car shoppers are still choosing zero-emission models which is encouraging given current economic uncertainty,” stated CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “While one manufacturer notably dropped in sales, other manufacturers’ sales collectively increased by 14%. From spacious SUVs to sporty sedans, automakers are delivering desirable options across every segment, and many new offerings are experiencing encouraging consumer uptake. Despite political headwinds domestically, zero-emission vehicles are the future internationally because they’re fast, fun and cheaper to fuel and maintain. America will not be left behind.”

What number of private and non-private EV chargers are working in California?

As of February 2025there are 178,549 public and shared personal electrical automobile chargers in California. Out of the 178,549 EV chargers put in within the state, 162,178 are Stage 2 chargers and 16,971 are quick chargers. Along with the general public community, the CEC estimates that greater than 700,000 Stage 2 chargers are put in statewide in single-family properties.

What number of electrical autos are working in California?

As of the end of 2024there have been 1,899,831 light-duty ZEVs in California, 1,453,994 of that are battery-electric.

What incentives can be found in California for residents to purchase EVs?

Grants and rebates for hundreds of {dollars} can be found for low-income Californians to buy EVs. Be taught extra at ClimateAction.ca.gov or ElectricForAll.org.

If the federal EV tax credit are repealed, would possibly the state of California take motion to maintain its personal going or broaden them?

The CEC has no remark on the time.