Checking in on the EV Revolution

The electric vehicle market is growing rapidly in Montgomery County. As of June 2022, there were 16,618 plug-in vehicles registered in the County, with 10,939 of those full battery-electric vehicles.  Over the past 2 years, the number of plug-in vehicles on the road has increased by 60%. In fact, over the last 12 months, over 9% of new vehicle registrations in the County are EVs.[1]

This growth is welcome news for the County’s carbon emissions goals. The Climate Action Plan identified transitioning to electric vehicles as a key action for reducing emissions in the County – along with reducing driving overall with increased use of transit, waking, and bicycling. With EVs only making up 1.5% of registered vehicles, there is a long way to go. However, the rate that County residents and businesses are adopting EVs suggests we are at the tipping point between early adoption and mainstream. According to a Bloomberg News study of EV adoption around the world, once a market reaches 5% of new vehicle sales, demand starts to accelerates rapidly. The United States recently passed this milestone, and Montgomery County is ahead of the curve.

For mainstream adoption of electric vehicles to be possible, consumers need to feel confident they can recharge when they need to.  There is good news on that front, as public charging in the County has also been growing rapidly over the last few years. There are currently over 500 public charging ports at over 300 locations across the county, including 92 DC fast charging ports.[2] You can find the locations of these charging stations at the energy.gov Alternative Fuels Data Center. Over 200 ports were added in 2021 alone, suggesting that charging infrastructure will continue to expand rapidly.

In fact, over the next year, Montgomery County plans to add public charging at over 60 additional sites, including recreational centers, libraries, and parks. As we make progress on the Climate Action Plan, the County will continue to look for ways to help residents and businesses reduce transportation emissions, like the EV Purchasing Co-op, the Bikeways Program, and more.

[1] EV Registrations by County: https://opendata.maryland.gov/Transportation/MDOT-MVA-Electric-and-Plug-in-Hybrid-Vehicle-Regis/qtcv-n3tc

EV market shared estimated based on total vehicle sales data: https://opendata.maryland.gov/Transportation/MVA-Vehicle-Sales-Counts-by-Month-for-Calendar-Yea/un65-7ipd

[2] Data on EV chargers available at https://afdc.energy.gov/stations/#/analyze