EVs accounted for 40% of new cars in some cities last year but just 3% in others - how does your city compare?

Americans in some areas are buying more than 10 times as many electric vehicles as in others, new data has revealed. 

In 2023, Americans bought more than one million fully electric vehicles - a new record. But this share is not evenly spread out across the country. 

The West Coast - and particularly California - continued to dominate the market last year, according to figures from market research firm S&P Global Mobility.

But other places, including the so-called 'Motor City' Detroit - the nation's auto capital - have barely any residents buying electric cars. 

Across the US in 2023, electric vehicles made up 8.5 percent of new car registrations. 

In San Jose, almost 40 percent of new car registrations last year were electric - the most of any major metro area. In Detroit, however, just 3 percent of registrations were for EVs. 

Americans in some areas are buying more than 10 times as many electric vehicles as in others, new data has revealed

In San Francisco, EVs accounted for more than 30 percent of registrations, according to figures from S&P Global Mobility reported in The New York Times. 

In Los Angeles, the number was close to 25 percent, and in San Diego and Sacramento, it was also over 20 percent. 

But there is a clear divide. 

'There are still parts of the US that, frankly, don't have anything to do with EVs,' Tom Libby, an analyst at S&P Global Mobility, told the outlet. 'They just have no interest in them.'

In many major metro areas, less than 5 percent of new car registrations last year were electric. 

In McAllen, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, fewer than 3 percent of registrations were electric, according to the data. 

Biden's administration has set a target requiring that two-thirds of new vehicle sales be electric by 2032

Ford slashed production of its F-150 Lightning electric truck (pictured) as it cited weaker-than-expected demand for EVs

But Libby noted that registrations are on the rise in some previously underrepresented metro areas - including in states like Florida and Texas - which were 'not on the map' a few years ago. 

Americans who have made the shift to electric cars so far tend to be wealthier and live in urban areas.

To fight climate change, the Biden administration has set out a target requiring that two-thirds of new vehicle sales be electric by 2032 - offering tax credits on some cars as an incentive for Americans. 

But the high cost of electric vehicles, coupled with concerns over a lack of widespread public charging stations, mean many consumers are still unwilling to make the change. 

Weaker demand for EVs has meant that Ford and General Motors have slashed production, and even Tesla has reported a slowdown in growth. 

Analysts expect the American EV market to continue growing into this year - but at a slower pace. 

Sales were up 46 percent between 2022 and 2023, according to automotive research company Kelley Blue Book.  

This year, sales are forecast to grow around 20 to 30 percent. 

It comes after hybrid vehicles made up six of the closely-watched top 10 cars of 2024, according to Consumer Reports. 

The 2024 rankings include three hybrid vehicles, three plug-in hybrids, and only one fully-electric car - the Tesla Model Y. 

Rounding off the top 10 were three gas-powered cars with no hybrid variants. 

Hybrids, which eliminate the so-called 'range anxiety' which comes with fully electric vehicles - accounted for 10 percent of all new vehicle registrations in the US 2023, according to S&P Global Mobility.