“California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project proved that smart, well-designed incentives can accelerate EV adoption by making EVs more affordable,” Goldenhersh said in a news release.
“Over the program’s lifetime from 2010 to 2023, EV market share in California led the nation, growing from near zero to 25 percent of all new car sales. Nearly 90 percent of participants said the rebate influenced their decision to buy or lease their EV, and nearly half said they would not have made the purchase without it.”
New EV sales have declined nationally after the Trump administration ended the $7,500 federal rebate and rolled back EPA emissions requirements, but used EV sales have increased in California due in part to affordability.
California leads other states with the largest percentage of electric car buyers. According to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, EVs and hybrid cars accounted for almost 24 percent of passenger vehicle registrations in California last year, and California was the only state to retain more than 20 percent of the market share in 2025.
California officials have previously announced plans to end the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.