New Study Shows Spike In Bay Area Electric Car Sales
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- Electric cars may be accelerating our path in the tech future as sales surge in the Bay Area, according to a new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation.
As first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, electric vehicles accounted for 13 percent of new passenger vehicle registrations in 2018 compared to 7 percent the year before. The Tesla Model 3, the company's least expensive model, is partly the cause of the electric car upswing, reported the paper.
"Oh we love it! Yeah, it's great," said Tesla Model 3 owner Stephen Taylor. "We wanted to move to helping the world move to transition to electric vehicles."
Taylor bought his Tesla eight months ago and said he will never go back to a gas-powered car again.
Prithiv Subramaniam, who bought his Tesla Model 3 just three months ago, said he plans to get rid of his gas-powered car.
"As a human, we have to save the environment," he said.
Both Tesla owners believe electric cars are the wave of the future and that eventually gas-powered cars will be few and far between.
But could they right?
According to the Council, San Jose ranked the highest in the United States — at 21 percent — for electric vehicle registered owners.
The Council said the surge is also in part to the decrease in prices for electric vehicles, as well as the incentives for buying one, like the federal tax credit.
"I haven't met an owner that doesn't love their car," Taylor said.