CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Have you thought about trading in your gas-powered car for an electric one?
More people are making the switch since it can be beneficial financially and it helps the environment. In 2018, there were about a million EVs on the road, and the estimate is by 2025 there will be 18 million.
President Joe Biden wants half of all new vehicles to be electric by the year 2030, and major automakers like GM, Audi and Volvo have said they’ll stop selling cars with internal combustion engines within 15 years.
So where do the Carolinas rank in terms of people buying them?
North Carolina ranks more in the middle of the pack when it comes to states pushing this technology forward.
"[North Carolina] measures better on some things, and worse on others," Julianne Ohlander said, who is a data analyst at Bumper.com. "South Carolina lags a little behind."
Electric has plenty of green pros. For example, maintenance will be less since driving one of these vehicles means no more oil changes.
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But cons include the distance a person can drive on one charge, which is about 250 to 300 miles and how long it takes to charge the vehicle.
Washington state took the No. 1 spot for supporting EV technology, according to a study done by Bumper. North Carolina ranks 16 while South Carolina ranks 48.
North Carolina has more than 560 public charging stations. By comparison, the city of Seattle alone has 2,039 charging stations.
“You can recharge your vehicle during the night when the electricity rates are cheaper,” Ohlander said about yet another perk of going all-in on electric vehicles.
By the numbers, EV sales nationally dropped off a bit, but in North Carolina, EV sales grew by 5% from 2019 to 2020.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said he’s committed to EV. His 2018 order established a goal of 80,000 EVs on the roads by 2025 with expanded support networks.
Contact Bill McGinty at bmcginty@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook.