John Crittenden with a pair of Mercedes-Benz EQB 300 electric vehicles in his garage on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Los Altos, Calif. John and his wife own two of the same model electric sport utility vehicles. Sales of zero-emission electric cars continue to tick up in California, driving the Golden State on a vastly different trajectory than the rest of the country.
“We wanted something that had comfortable seats with good thigh and lumbar support, and that is hard to come by unless you go with a more expensive car,’’ said Crittenden, 67. After test driving EVs made by Mercedes Benz, VW, Jaguar and Audi, Crittenden purchased a blue Mercedes EQB 300 in May of last year. He liked it so much that four months later, he and his wife leased a second one.
With 60 ZEV manufacturers based in California, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, including Lucid Motors in Newark, the success of the state’s programs has led to ZEVs becoming a top export and has spurred major advances in manufacturing and job creation. The survey said Americans are passing up EVs for several reasons, including higher purchase prices. Sixty percent of those surveyed said price was the largest single reason for preferring gas-powered vehicles. Infrastructure was another reason, with 54% of respondents saying that a lack of convenient places to charge kept them from buying an EV. Maintenance costs were also a factor with more than 57% of those polled saying the cost of battery repair or replacement was a sticking point.
The state also faces increasing risks from record-setting fires, heat waves, storm surges, sea-level rise, water supply shortages and extreme heat. And these conditions are made worse by climate change.