Highlight
  • The vehicle ownership rate declined sharply after 2018—then increased again in 2021. The vehicle ownership rate was 78.4 per 100 persons in 2021, up from 74.7 in 2020. ZEVs and hybrids (HEVs) accounted for 2.1 and 3.3 vehicles per 100 persons respectively, up slightly compared to 2020. This is the reverse of previous patterns, where the increased share of ZEVs and HEVs is matched by a decreasing share in the non-zero-emission vehicle rate. The non-ZEV rate had also climbed to 73.0 per 100 persons, up from 69.4 per 100 persons in 2020. Following the California Air Resources Board’s approval on the Advanced Clean Cars II program, which mandates 100 percent of new cars and light trucks sold in California be ZEVs (including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) by 2035, the ZEV ownership rate is expected to continue climbing in the near future.90

90 California Air Resources Board, California moves to accelerate to 100% new zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.
August 25, 2022. Retrieved from: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-moves-accelerate-100-new-zero-emission-vehicle-sales-2035