Electric Cars For Sale in California (2024)

FAQs

Is California forcing people to buy electric cars? ›

Under California's landmark electric car mandate, a pillar of Gov. Gavin Newsom's climate change agenda, 68% of all new 2030 model cars sold in the state must be zero emissions, increasing to 100% for 2035, when 15 million electric cars are expected in California.

From a cost perspective, yes, it is a good time to buy. Federal and state incentives are bringing certain EVs on par with the cost of gas vehicles.

After years of rapid expansion, electric vehicles sales growth in California trended down in the middle of last year and now has turned negative: 101,443 all-electric cars were registered in the state in 2024's second quarter, down from 102,730 in the second quarter of 2023, a drop of 1.2%.

Zero-emission vehicle sales continue to break records in California. In 2023, Californians purchased nearly 450,000 new ZEVs, a 30% increase since 2022. ZEVs were 25% of new vehicle sales, up from 20% in 2022, and California exceeded its goal to sell 1.5 million sales two years ahead of schedule.

Seventeen states have historically followed California's regulations, but so far only Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington have announced they'll enforce the Advanced Clean Cars II rule and prohibit the sale of new gasoline-powered ...

California Air Resources Board

If you're looking to make the switch to an EV, CARB will pay you up to $12,000 to retire an eligible internal-combustion vehicle and purchase a qualified EV.

When it comes strictly down to numbers of miles and years, an EV will likely outlast an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. With regular use, the average lifespan of a gas vehicle is 150,000 miles or eight years, and EVs can last up to 200,000 miles, or about 12 years.

Experts say that 2024 will be the best year to purchase a new car since 2019. As interest rates slowly drop throughout the remainder of the year, payments will become more manageable. Don't overlook manufacturer rate promotions, as they can save you thousands of dollars.

A 2020 Consumer Reports study similarly showed that EV drivers tend to spend about 60 percent less each year on fuel costs compared to drivers of gas-powered cars.

There are plenty of reasons not to buy an electric vehicle in 2024: Auto loan rates are high. Despite a recent wave of discounting, many EVs remain pricier than gas-burning cars. And an incomplete network of sometimes glitchy chargers has stoked drivers' “range anxiety” about running out of juice.

Why are electric cars not selling? ›

High prices and a lack of easy-to-find charging stations are major sticking points, a new poll shows.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently adopted “Advanced Clean Cars II,” set to take effect January 1, 2025, which would require 100% of new cars sold in Model Year 2035 to be electric vehicles.

The CA EV Mandate addresses the primary source of air pollution (transportation sector) and global warming by promoting zero-emission vehicles. Aims to achieve a 25% reduction in smog-causing pollution from light-duty vehicles by 2037.

California rules essentially require that 35% of all new vehicles sold need to be battery electric or plug-in hybrid by 2026, on the way to 100% of cars and light trucks all-electric by 2035.

And in a surprise finding the 10 states listed as the toughest to purchase an EV through are Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Beginning January 1, 2025, the CEC must assess the uptime of EV charging stations. The assessment must include considerations for equitable access to EV charging stations in low-, moderate-, and high-income communities.