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Last Updated on: 22nd May 2025, 01:15 pm
The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently published some very interesting EV sales information. Zach already wrote an article about it.
I reached out to the CEC to ask some questions to get its perspective on what is happening in the Golden State. What jumped out in the answers was something of a stunning fact. There are about 178,549 EV charging ports in California. I never knew the total number of CA gas stations, so I looked today, thinking it must be a pretty big number. Turns out its only about 15,000 gas stations or less, depending on what source you use.
So, California has way, way more EV charging ports than gas stations and will continue to add many more EV chargers. Additionally, the 178,549 EV charging ports total does not include the estimated 700,000 EV charging ports in homes.
The more fair comparison would be EV charging ports to gas nozzles. So, how many gas nozzles in CA? About 120,000, but there are still far more EV charging ports than that in CA. And, there are more EV charging ports being added regularly.
It is very obvious to anyone who follows sustainable transportation that there is a relationship between electric vehicle adoption and charging infrastructure. California has the most EV chargers of any US state and the most electric vehicles. EV sales are supported by the presence of charging infrastructure. There’s another stunning fact bolded and italicized below in the answers about how the vast majority of Californians live rather close to an EV charger.
CEC staff answered the following questions for CleanTechnica.
Despite market disruptions, how are California ZEV sales remaining steady?
Consumers are buoyed by more choices and are feeling confident in California’s growing ZEV infrastructure. 94% of Californians live within 10 minutes of an EV charger. The California Energy Commission (CEC) is deploying funds to further expand the state’s charger network and ensure that EV charging is reliable, affordable and accessible to all Californians.
In Q1 2025, CA non-Tesla electric vehicle (EV) registrations grew by 14%. What drove this growth?
The EV market is diversifying in California, with 147 EV models available in Q1, up from 105 models in Q1 of last year. What drove this diversification?
For both of these questions, I’ll direct you to Liane Randolph’s quote in our press release: “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,” said 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.”
How many public and private EV chargers are operating in California?
As of February 2025, there are 178,549 public and shared private electric vehicle chargers in California. Out of the 178,549 EV chargers installed in the state, 162,178 are Level 2 chargers and 16,971 are fast chargers. In addition to the public network, the CEC estimates that more than 700,000 Level 2 chargers are installed statewide in single-family homes.
How many electric vehicles are operating in California?
As of the end of 2024, there were 1,899,831 light-duty ZEVs in California, 1,453,994 of which are battery-electric.
What incentives are available in California for residents to buy EVs?
Grants and rebates for thousands of dollars are available for low-income Californians to purchase EVs. Learn more at ClimateAction.ca.gov or ElectricForAll.org.
If the federal EV tax credits are repealed, might the state of California take action to keep its own going or expand them?
The CEC has no comment at the time.
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