Profile: Who’s buying electric vehicles now?

Barring potential legal battles against Newsom’s executive order, Californians will only be permitted to purchase electric vehicles starting in 2035. Energy consultant Ronald Stein highlights demographics of the typical electric car owner: extensive education, impressive income, and owner of multiple vehicles. If most current electric car owners rely on charging stations in their garage and use their other vehicles during bad weather spells, how will ordinary (and low-income) CA’n residents manage? To receive daily updates of new Opp Now stories, click here.

Even with the great California year-round weather, the states’ EV user’s experiences do not bode well for projected EV sales in America as the states’ EV users may be sending a caution-to-the-wind (no pun intended) message to America that the EV usage in the state reflects very conservative notices to future EV owners. A few reasons why Californians may be sending the wrong message to America is the profile of current EV owners:

1. The EV owners represent multi-car families. Thus, the limited usage of the EV’s of about 5,000 miles per year is a reflection that the EV is a second vehicle, for those that can afford a second vehicle, and not the family workhorse vehicle.

2. The primary owners of EV’s are the highly educated and financially well off, and not representative of the majority that are middle to low income folks, or those on fixed incomes. The California challenge is that more than 18 million (45 percent of the 40 million Californians) represent the Hispanic and African American populations of the state, and the more than two million undocumented immigrants.

3. EV owner incomes rank among the highest in the country which may be a reflection of home owners that have easier access to charging their EV from their multi-car garages, or for those folks living in new apartments that may have access to more convenient EV charging capabilities. Most car owners are not homeowners and park in the street.

This article originally appeared in the California Policy Center. Read the whole thing here.

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity