Kia unveiled the EV9 during the 2023 New York International Auto Show last week. It will be produced at the company’s facility in West Point, Ga. starting in 2024. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Electric vehicles (EVs) represent almost 9% of monthly new vehicle registrations in Atlanta in January 2023, up 5.5% in January 2022, Axios’ Joann Muller reports.
Why it matters: Electric vehicles are no longer just for early adopters.
- With a wider selection and some signs of price moderation, mainstream car buyers are increasingly turning their EV curiosity into purchases.
Zoom in: The Georgia Legislature this year approved an overhaul of how the state regulates and taxes electric vehicles to prepare for widespread adoption.
- It happened despite protests from environmentalists that the new rate structure was too high and would undermine the existing free charger network.
- Lawmakers countered that the new fees don’t take effect until 2025 and that they could revise the law before then.
The big picture: Over the next few years Georgia will become a center for electric vehicle production, including the new Kia EV arriving at its West Point factory in 2024 and new electric vehicle plants currently under construction by Rivian and its parent company from Kia, Hyundai.
Zoom out: Nationally, electric vehicles accounted for 7% of new vehicle registrations in January, up from 4.1% in January 2022.
Axios has been tracking historical gasoline change using vehicle registration data from S&P Global Mobility.
- By 2022, electric vehicles accounted for 5.6% of all new car registrations in the United States.
- This is up from 3.1% in 2021 and 1.8% in 2020, but still far behind China and Europe.
Reality check: Less than 1% of the 279 million cars and light trucks on American roads are electric.
Of note: Existing federal consumer tax credits for electric vehicle purchases are being reworked, again, in part to bolster US manufacturing and reduce reliance on China.
- A list of qualifying vehicles will be announced in mid-April, but few of the current EVs are expected to meet the new standards.
The bottom line: Consumers curious about electric vehicles have more options than ever.
- There were 47 electric models available for sale in the US at the end of January, compared to 33 a year earlier.
