Snapshot: Zero-emission Vehicle Market Trends

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Zero-Emission Transportation, California is Going Zero Emissions
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Advanced Clean Cars Program, Zero-Emission Transportation, Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet, Zero-Emission Vehicle Program
All data on this website reflect registrations of new vehicles via S&P Global Mobility unless otherwise noted.

The California Zero-emission Vehicle Market

California’s robust regulations are delivering on the vision of a zero-emission future. Zero-emission vehicles continue to break records in California, with sustained year-over-year growth in market share. Over the past eight years, zero-emission vehicle registrations – including battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles – have steadily climbed.

This visual displays California's annual light-duty new vehicle registrations from 2015 through 2023. It compares new zero-emission vehicle registrations against total new registrations.This visual displays California's annual zero-emission vehicle market share from 2015 to 2023. Market share steadily increases, starting at 3 percent in 2015 and increasing to 25 percent in 2023.

Figure 1. Source: S&P Global Mobility light vehicle registrations in California 2015-2023. Zero-emission vehicle registrations are defined by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles combined.

Based on CARB assessments, automakers are over-complying with California’s existing Zero-emission Vehicle Regulation and are poised to meet the Advanced Clean Cars II requirement that 35% of new light-duty vehicle sales be zero-emission in 2026.

Focusing on 2023

In 2023, Californians registered nearly 450,000 new zero-emission vehicles, a 30% increase since 2022. Zero-emission vehicles were 25% of new vehicle registrations, up from 20% in 2022. California exceeded its goal to sell 1.5 million vehicles1 two years ahead of schedule. Even in the presence of market-wide fluctuations from quarter to quarter, the zero-emission vehicle market share remained quite steady throughout the year.

This visual displays California's 2023 light-duty new vehicle registrations by quarter. It compares new zero-emission vehicle registrations against total new vehicle registrations.This visual displays California's zero-emission vehicle market share by quarter for 2023. The market share for quarters 1, 2, 3, and 4 is approximately 24 percent, 26 percent, 28 percent, and 25 percent, respectively.

Figure 2. Source: S&P Global Mobility light vehicle registrations in California, January-December 2023. Zero-emission vehicle registrations are defined by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles combined.

The National Zero-emission Vehicle Market

The zero-emission vehicle market is also growing at the national level, climbing from 2% of new vehicle registrations in 2020 to over 9% in 2023.

This visual displays national annual light-duty new vehicle registrations from 2015 through 2023. It compares new zero-emission vehicle registrations against total new registrations.This visual displays national annual zero-emission vehicle market share from 2015 to 2023. Market share steadily increases, starting at one percent in 2015 and increasing to 9 percent in 2023.

Figure 4. Source: S&P Global Mobility light vehicle registrations in the U.S. 2015-2023. Zero-emission vehicle registrations are defined by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles combined.

Focusing on 2023

The national zero-emission vehicle market also set records in 2023, surpassing 1.4 million annual new registrations and achieving over 10% of new vehicle registrations in the third and fourth quarters of 2023 – a 52% increase over 2022.

This visual displays national 2023 light-duty new vehicle registrations by quarter. It compares new zero-emission vehicle registrations against total new vehicle registrations.This visual displays California's zero-emission vehicle market share by quarter for 2023. The market share for quarters 1, 2, 3, and 4 is approximately 9 percent, 9 percent, 10 percent, and 10 percent, respectively.

Figure 4. Source: S&P Global Mobility light vehicle registrations in the U.S., January-December 2023. Zero-emission vehicle registrations are defined by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles combined.

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