A major push to replace America's gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles hasn't borne much fruit yet. According to a new study, America's 2.1 million electric cars and plug-in hybrids PHEVs have saved the country some gasoline.
In 2021, they saved almost two days worth of gasoline.
America uses gasoline. The numbers are staggering.
Americans burned approximately 369 million gallons of gasoline per day in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That number was down a bit from historical highs. In 2021, Americans drove fewer miles because of the COVID-19 epidemic.
America consumes about 17% of the world's oil with about 4.25% of the world's population.
A study by the Department of Energy's Argonne National Lab concluded that privately owned PHEVs and EVs saved about 690 million gallons of gasoline over the course of a decade and reduced CO 2 emissions by 5.4 million metric tons. It is early, and adoption is speeding up.
The numbers are sobering but early. Four states have passed laws banning the sale of new gas-powered cars after 2035. But that date is still 13 years away.
EVs make up less than 3% of the cars on American roads. Sales are accelerating.
EV sales won't grow in a linear fashion. Sales more than doubled in the year 2021. In the first six months of 2022, more than 5% of the new cars sold in the US were electric, a number that excludes PHEVs One. The study has suggested that 5% is a crucial tipping point, after which sales start to accelerate.
Here is your guide to different types of electric cars.
Early signs may be proving that. In the last quarter, new car sales fell by 0.1%. Electric car sales increased by 67% compared to the same period in 2021, according to the latest figures.
So complaining that electric vehicles haven't displaced much gas usage yet is a bit like complaining that the fire department hasn't put out the fire when they're still unfurling the hoses.
In 2021, EVs reduced gasoline consumption by just 0.54%, according to Argonne.