Interest in electric cars rises in the Midwest with gas prices

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – With gas prices rising, a recent study found that the same is true for alternative fuel vehicles – especially in the Midwest.

While sales of hybrid and electric vehicles have increased in recent years, iSeeCars – an online automotive search engine – said specific cities and states with growing demand for alternative fuel vehicles might come as a surprise to some, with most located in the Midwest.

“You expect to see strong sales of hybrid and electric vehicles in states like California, Oregon and Washington, or in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles or Seattle,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. . “While these areas have the highest percentage of alternative fuel vehicles, the areas with the greatest growth in hybrid and electric vehicle share come from states and cities that few would expect.”

According to iSeeCars, interest in alternative fuel vehicles since 2014 has increased 240.9% in Mississippi, 116.5% in Hawaii, 97% in Utah, 84.3% in Maryland and 79.1% in Wyoming. Closer to home, he said interest in alternative fuel vehicles has increased 65.3% in Nebraska and 75.6% in Colorado.

“It’s pretty amazing that California barely ranks in the top 10 in hybrid and electric vehicle growth since 2014, even with strong incentives encouraging their purchase,” Brauer said. “Conversely, despite the lack of statewide incentives, EV adoption in Mississippi is growing faster than any other state and may continue to do so as Nissan plans to manufacture EVs in its Mississippi plant in the years to come.”

Meanwhile, iSeeCars said interest in alternative fuel vehicles was down 11.3% in South Carolina, 2.8% in South Dakota and no change in Florida.

“Florida previously had an above-average EV adoption rate, and our data suggests that demand has remained steady but not increased,” Brauer said. “Of course, Florida’s 0% growth rate is still ahead of South Dakota and South Carolina, which actually lost alternative fuel vehicle market share between 2014 and 2022.”

Looking at cities, iSeeCars said interest in alternative fuel vehicles increased 130.4% in Houston, 105.3% in Salt Lake City, 99.7% in Detroit, 98 .8% in Sacramento and 98.5% in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Closer to home, interest rose 77.7% in Denver.

“Once again we see expected regions like Phoenix, Dallas and San Francisco sitting in the middle of places like Columbus, Grand Rapids and Minneapolis, suggesting that the shift from internal combustion engines to hybrid and electric vehicles is not going to happen. no longer produced only in big cities,” Brauer said.

“Los Angeles, with a 70 percent growth rate in alternative fuel vehicle market share, is not in the top 15,” Brauer continued. “It is surpassed in this area by, among others, Birmingham, Alabama, which ranked seventh with an 88% growth rate.”

However, only five metropolitan areas have lost a share of alternative fuel vehicles over the past 8 years. iSeeCars said interest was down 27.9% in the Greenville-Spartanburg, North Carolina area, 1.5% in the Orland-Daytona Beach area, 1.5% in the Jacksonville, 0.7% in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area and 0.2% in the Tampa area. St. Petersburg region.

“The worst cities were essentially stable in terms of hybrid and electric vehicle market share, with the exception of Greenville-Spartanburg, which lost more than 25% of its alternative fuel vehicle market share over the last 8 years,” Brauer said. “South Carolina offers no incentives for hybrid or electric vehicles, and state economic statistics suggest the higher cost of hybrid and electric vehicles makes them out of reach for many residents.”

In Topeka, iSeeCars said the most popular hybrid and electric vehicles are:

• Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
• Toyota Highlander Hybrid
• Toyota Prius
• Kia Niro
• Toyota Avalon hybrid

So the bottom line, according to iSeeCars, is that the shift from traditional internal combustion engines to hybrids and pure electric vehicles has continued and not just in major coastal cities. He said many automakers plan to end production of all internal combustion engines in the next decade. This decision assumes that the American consumer will fully adopt alternative fuel vehicles within the next 10 years.

However, iSeeCars noted that the target may be overly optimistic on the part of automakers and government regulators, but there is strong evidence of growing interest in the country.

To read the full study, click on HERE.

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