Washington state car buyers are increasingly going electric.
New data shows that 19% of new cars registered in Washington in 2023 were electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids — almost double the U.S. average.
That’s a jump from 13% in 2022 and puts Washington just behind California, whose low-carbon car sales hit nearly 26%.
A report from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation tallying year-end data reported that 112 models of EVs and plug-ins were sold in the U.S.
Looking at both new and used vehicle registrations in Washington, the number of low-carbon vehicles has reached more than 173,000, according to recent numbers from the state’s Department of Licensing data.
But while the sales have been rising, overall growth is slowing in the electric vehicle markets for the U.S. and globally, experts warn. Lagging Tesla sales are driving much of the slowdown domestically, according to analysts, and it appears the company is abandoning its plans to make an inexpensive model. American automakers including GM and Ford are pulling back on their EV manufacturing.
Following California’s lead, Washington is requiring all new vehicles sold in the state to be zero carbon emissions by 2035. That includes passenger cars, light-duty vehicles, and medium-duty vehicles such as larger pick-up trucks and SUVs. That target ramps up incrementally, beginning with an 8% sales target for 2025 vehicle models — a benchmark the state has already passed.
“Momentum for zero-emission cars and trucks has been slowly building for years,” said Joel Creswell, manager of the Climate Pollution Reduction program, in an Ecology Department blog post. “But 2023 is when all the pieces came together and car buyers in our state showed they were ready to trade the gas pump for the electric plug.”
Investments from the state’s Climate Commitment Act and federal dollars are helping expand the EV charging network in Washington. An initiative on the ballot in November called I-2117 would eliminate the funding created by the climate act by abolishing a program that requires polluters to pay for their carbon emissions.
