As consumers are moving more slowly to all-electric vehicles than many expected in the U.S., Hawaii has been a growing leader in EV adoption.
Hawaii also ranks third – behind only California and Washington – in J.D. Power's "EV Adoption Score," which is weighted based on market, consumer preference and EV availability, among other conditions, with a score of 33.8. "We're on an island. No one is really worried about road trips unless they live on the Big Island," he said.
"While it is a significant percentage of our current sales compared to other dealers or other markets, it's still a very, very small percentage," he said. "We do see that continuing to climb."that's just arriving to dealerships. The current top-selling EV at the Kia dealerships is the Niro, which also is Kia's least expensive all-electric vehicle, and Aloha Kia has priced it starting at about $36,000.