In 2023, more than 7% of cars sold in the United States were electric vehicles. In some parts of the world, such as Norway, EVs make up a whopping 20% of cars on the road. In California, where I live, almost 60% of people looking for a car in 2021 said they would at least consider getting an EV.
This upswing in demand comes after years of flagging sales. As recently as 2010, fewer than 100,000 cars on U.S. roads were EVs. That number crossed the 1 million mark in 2018, up more than 80% over the prior year.
What explains this seemingly unexpected surge over the past few years?
The…
