Gov. Newsom Rebuked after Misleading Claim on EV Sales

A statement by California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday saying that electric vehicles (EV) have had one of the best quarters in history was widely rebuked as being misleading –  EV sales have actually been going down since last year.

While electric cars have seen steady growth in California since the 2000’s, the state didn’t see a drastic rise in sales until 2020. Between 2018 and 2020, sales lingered at around 7%-8% of all new cars sold being electric.

However, in September 2020, Gavin Newsom issued an order of a staggered plan requiring that 35% of all new cars sold in California in 2026 to be electric or hybrids, 68% by 2030, and 100% by 2035.

Newsom’s order was quickly met with criticism. While many car manufacturers were generally in line to do so, many in state and federal government, including the head of the EPA, questioned the decision. However, after gas prices rose to new highs earlier this year nationwide, with Californians seeing amongst the highest in the nation, public and governmental reception warmed. Despite numerous problems associated with the 2035 plan, including concerns of enough electricity being available to power cars and battery component issues that could potentially make the 2035 plan impossible, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the 2035 plan in August 2022, making national and international news.

Despite the controversy, the plan did work for several years as environmental concerns, the COVID lockdown, and a growing acceptance amongst car dealers led to drastically growing rates. The 10% marks was hit in 2021, with the 20% being reached only the next year. By Q2 2023, 25.4% of all cars sold in California were electric. However, that’s when sales suddenly dropped off. The largest electric car companies in terms of sales in California saw huge dips between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024 thanks to Chevy losing a popular type of electric car and Tesla becoming less and less wanted overall. While other companies did see upticks in sales, the overall high price of electric cars turned many away, with consumers instead opting for the middle-ground of hybrid cars. Between the two quarters, the number of registered electric cars in the state fell by 1.2%.

Even worse, the 35% electric sales by 2026 goal now seemed out of reach, with California starting to fall behind goals. Despite this, Newsom announced on Tuesday that California had one of it’s best quarters ever. According to Newsom and the California Energy Commission (CEC), in Q2 2024 Californians purchased 118,181 zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) representing 25.7% of all new vehicle sales in the state. This was also about 10,000 more than Q1 2024 sales.

“California continues to prove the naysayers and skeptics wrong because our innovation is simply unmatched. Our policies helped lay the groundwork for our transition to clean cars – and now Californians are making the switch in record numbers,” said Newsom. “Clean cars are here, and they’re here to stay – thanks to California.”

Zero-emission vehicles sales in California have officially notched one of their best quarters ever!

Last quarter, more than 118,000 new ZEVs were sold — 25.7% of all new vehicle sales in the state. pic.twitter.com/sewtzcVrku

— California Governor (@CAgovernor) August 6, 2024

However, Newsom’s announcement on Tuesday quickly caused a negative reaction amongst many both in the auto industry and in Sacramento. Auto experts told the Globe that Newsom was switching up graphs from last year. While he had previously pushed out graphs showing the rise in yearly EV sales percentages, this year he instead used a graph showing total all-time electric sales to show growth, even though sales percentages have largely plateaued since last year.

“Newsom and those pushing for electric vehicles in California know that sales are pretty much stagnating,” explained Veronica Deer, an auto industry analyst who focuses on the electric market, to the Globe on Wednesday. “His people had to pull out the total all-time sales climb, because of course it is going to climb. Gas powered cars are climbing in sales too. Motorcycles are. Trucks are. Why not highlight those?”

“But the one thing he needed, that percentage rise, just plain didn’t. That part isn’t so much misleading as it is him trying to divert away from the fact that he isn’t going to reach that 2026 35% goal now. Not unless the state really pushes them hard or offers huge discounts. And for the average Californian looking at a $60,000 new electric car, that’s asking for at least a 50% state voucher program. That’s why they aren’t highlighting the fact that the total percentage gain in the last year was .3%”

GOP lawmakers were also highly critical of Newsom’s statement. In a press release on Wednesday, California State Republicans noted the following:

• Electric vehicles represent less than 4% of vehicles on the road in California today.

• Electric vehicle sales are, in fact, 1.2% or roughly 1.3 million vehicles less compared to the same period last year.

• Electric vehicle sales as recently as last summer were seeing rapid growth, suggesting that the recent flatlining of market share may indicate a market saturation plateau is occurring.

• Overall vehicle sales are down nearly 1% as affordability and economic uncertainty continue to limit purchases for everyday Californians.

“Car sales are down, EV sales are down, and the economy is down, this is not the time for bluster and braggadocio. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and fix California, said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego). “Governor Newsom is intentionally misleading with his cherry-picked facts. He underestimates the intellect of the people of this great state in doing so. We see what he’s doing.”

Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) added that “Californians want common sense, effective environmental policy that actually works. They have no use for Governor Newsom’s smoke and mirrors routine and I take offense that he is gaslighting the citizens of California. He can fudge the numbers all he wants to, but one plus one doesn’t equal three, no matter how much you try to make it.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Newsom nor his office has yet to respond to the mounting criticisms.