How Many Electric Cars Are There in the U.S.?

The latest stats on EV sales and registrations in 2024

written by Ronald Montoya^{Senior Consumer Advice Editor & Content Strategy
Ronald Montoya has worked in the automotive industry since 2008. He has written over a thousand car related articles and bought and sold over 100 vehicles over the course of his career. Ronald is a senior consumer advice editor and content strategy at Edmunds and has also contributed to the Associated Press. He has also been featured on ABC, NBC and NPR on a number of car shopping topics. He got his start in the auto industry by taking a part-time job at a car dealership, where he worked in the service and accounting department.}
edited by Steven Ewing^{Director, Editorial Content
Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of car-related articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET Roadshow, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Ars Technica, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, SlashGear, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and lust over small JDM cars that never made it to the States.}
1/5/2024(updated 7/17/2024)
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According to an Experian Automotive Market Trends report from the fourth quarter of 2023, there were about 3.3 million electric cars on the road in the U.S. This number is up from 2 million electric vehicles in 2022 and 1.3 million in 2021. While EVs are gaining traction, they are still a long way from catching up to gas-powered vehicles, which make up the remaining 288.5 million cars currently in operation. By 2030, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory predicts there could be 30 million to 42 million EVs on U.S. roads.

But the sheer number of vehicles on the road doesn't tell the whole story, as there are several other EV sales and registration figures to consider. Let's take a deep dive into the numbers to better understand how many electric cars there are in the U.S.

EV sales in the U.S.
How many electric cars are registered in the U.S.?
Which manufacturer has the highest EV sales?
Top-selling EV models in the U.S.

EV sales in the U.S.

From an EV sales perspective in 2024, there were over 454,670 vehicles purchased from January to May, according to Edmunds sales data. This figure accounts for about 6.9% of new vehicle purchases. Looking back at 2023, the last full year of EV sales, there were 1,077,138 EVs. By comparison, there were 13,061,153 gas vehicles sold in 2023. EV sales for 2023 eclipsed 2022's numbers, when 713,145 vehicles were sold during the calendar year. And since 2018, electric car sales have increased by over 400%.

That said, Edmunds analysts have noted that the transition to full EVs has slowed, as hybrids currently appear to be the more comfortable choice for the majority of Americans seeking electrified options. As a result, we're not likely to see the same explosive growth in the coming year.

Sales volume	EV	Hybrid	Plug-in hybrid	Internal combustion engine (ICE)
2015	54,179	318,878	12,530	17,086,650
2016	70,466	346,816	16,984	17,124,945
2017	94,626	369,729	38,595	16,727,920
2018	206,365	430,421	54,519	16,620,333
2019	225,741	590,445	56,482	16,186,224
2020	233,330	577,803	38,658	13,705,565
2021	389,410	757,433	78,883	13,790,304
2022	713,145	754,772	113,743	12,200,411
2023	1,077,138	1,242,608	177,081	13,061,153
2024 (Jan-May)	454,670	579,038	110,902	5,409,757

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Source: Edmunds sales data

How many electric cars are registered in the U.S.?

There were over 3.3 million electric vehicles registered in 2023, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Energy. California had the greatest number of electric vehicle registrations by a wide margin (1,178,948), followed by Florida (231,518), Texas (210,433), Washington (141,055) and New Jersey (125,317).

Electric Vehicle Registrations by State

State	Registration count
California	1,178,948
Florida	231,518
Texas	210,433
Washington	141,055
New Jersey	125,317
New York	121,768
Illinois	93,021
Georgia	85,050
Arizona	84,611
Colorado	82,563
Virginia	78,694
Massachusetts	68,842
Maryland	64,919
Pennsylvania	64,631
North Carolina	63,768
Oregon	60,196
Ohio	46,128
Michigan	45,588
Nevada	44,060
Utah	36,860
Minnesota	33,933
Tennessee	30,483
Connecticut	29,587
Missouri	24,665
Hawaii	24,195
Indiana	23,987
Oklahoma	22,845
Wisconsin	22,776
South Carolina	19,224
Alabama	11,831
Kentucky	10,750
Kansas	10,401
New Mexico	9,557
New Hampshire	9,247
Iowa	8,333
Idaho	7,982
Delaware	7,687
Louisiana	7,529
District of Columbia	7,492
Vermont	7,312
Maine	6,829
Arkansas	6,572
Nebraska	6,304
Rhode Island	5,943
Montana	4,230
Mississippi	3,246
West Virginia	2,542
Alaska	2,538
South Dakota	1,556
Wyoming	1,080
North Dakota	876

Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory with data from Experian Information Solutions. This chart shows the vehicle registration counts of all-electric vehicles by state during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Which manufacturer has the highest EV sales?

Tesla sells the most electric vehicles in the U.S. by a wide margin. This metric is often called "market share," which is the percentage a given brand represents in the overall market. Take a look at our related article called "What Is the Percentage of Electric Cars in the U.S.?" for more detailed information on which other brands have the highest market share.

According to Edmunds data from May 2023, the top five newly registered EVs are from these manufacturers:

Of the top 10 EV automakers, those ranked third through seventh are all closely matched, so the full list is likely to change by the end of 2024.

Top-selling EV models in the U.S.

When it comes to the most popular EV models on sale today, Tesla occupies all three spots on the winners' podium. According to Experian Automotive's sales data from the first quarter of 2024, the Model Y placed first, the Model 3 placed second, and the Model X came up third. The Rivian R1S, Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford Mustang Mach-E held the fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively.

Edmunds says

Electric vehicles have come a long way in recent years. While sales are starting to slow a bit, there is still plenty of interest from shoppers who have been on the fence and are perhaps waiting for prices to drop. Several new models are on the horizon, and soon there will be even more EVs on the road. If you're in need of an EV now, take a look at our list of the best electric cars, as rated by our expert test team.

by Ronald Montoya

Ronald Montoya has worked in the automotive industry since 2008. He has written over a thousand car related articles and bought and sold over 100 vehicles over the course of his career. Ronald is a senior consumer advice editor and content strategy at Edmunds and has also contributed to the Associated Press. He has also been featured on ABC, NBC and NPR on a number of car shopping topics. He got his start in the auto industry by taking a part-time job at a car dealership, where he worked in the service and accounting department.

edited by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of car-related articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET Roadshow, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Ars Technica, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, SlashGear, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and lust over small JDM cars that never made it to the States.

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