The electric vehicle market is in encouragingly good health, with a report from Axios revealing that sales in the United States have crossed a major milestone.
Using data from BloombergNEF, and while noting that the information from October and November is preliminary, Axios said that over 1 million battery electric vehicles were sold in the country during 2023. Meanwhile, sales of plug-in hybrid cars are also on the rise.
BloombergNEF also found that the United States' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has encouraged about $100 billion worth of investments in the sector. This includes battery manufacturing — which is booming in southern states — vehicle manufacturing, battery component production, and battery recycling.
The IRA was announced in 2022, with the U.S. government describing it as "the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation's history."
It includes measures to encourage sustainable energy production — such as wind power, solar power, and geothermal energy — and tax breaks for consumers looking to invest in electric vehicles.
While the United States is still lagging behind China when it comes to EV sales, with 6.23 million forecast for the East Asian nation in 2023, per a Statista report, the continued growth of electric vehicle activity in the U.S. is clear to see.
Axios noted that the data suggests that fears of a drop-off in demand for clean electric cars in the United States are not being realized.
President Biden set a goal for half of all new vehicle sales to be electric models by 2030, hopefully accelerating the switch from dirty-fuel-powered, internal-combustion-engine machines to vehicles that produce zero tailpipe pollution while on the road.
To help make this possible, the U.S. government has been improving necessary infrastructure across the country, with a 40% increase in charging ports since Biden took office, per a White House press release.
Money.com cited data from the American Automobile Association that found that 56% of people were reluctant to switch to electric vehicles because of a perceived lack of convenient charging. This makes boosting availability an extremely important step to take, with the added benefit of reducing range anxiety for EV drivers.
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