News & Insights

By Riley Cutner-Orrantia and Eurie Hwang, Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson (CGS3)

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced that the state has surpassed its goal of selling 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles – two years ahead of the original 2025 goal.

With 21 percent of all new cars sold in the state now zero-emission, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are a common sight in California’s parking lots.  These “public” charging stations at shopping centers, entertainment districts and other destinations are a testament to the impact of the state’s increasingly ambitious initiatives on clean energy.

Amongst the 50 states, California is home to the largest number of EVs and consequently the most extensive vehicle charging infrastructure.  The Golden State leads the country in all EV market metrics including the highest level of public funding – nearly $2 billion in incentives have been provided to help Californians go electric – and the largest EV market share percentage of nearly 18%.  Additionally, California has the highest number of EV charging stations at 15,182, making up an impressive 29% of all charging stations in America.  In fact, it has nearly doubled the number of EV chargers in New York (3,085), Florida (2,858), and Texas (2,419) combined.

Forty percent of all zero-emission vehicles sold in this county are sold in California and state officials claim that 12.5 million electric vehicles are expected on California’s roads by 2035.  Yet even though California is the tip of the spear in the adoption of EV use, the charging infrastructure is woefully inadequate to meet current demand.   

The full article can be read in Law360 here (subscription required).