Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States
(sales as of December 2020)
The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is supported by the American federal government, and several states and local governments.
As of December 2023, cumulative sales in the U.S. totaled 4.7 million plug-in electric cars since 2010, led by all-electric cars. Sales totaled 1,402,371 units in 2023, with a market share of 9.1%. This was the first time the American market surpassed the 1 million sales mark. The American stock represented 20% of the global plug-in car fleet in use by the end of 2019 and the U.S. had the world's third largest stock of plug-in passenger cars after China (47%) and Europe (25%). New-vehicle sales are expected to reach 16.3 million units in 2025, marking the highest volume since 2019 and a modest rise from 2024’s 16.0 million units.
The U.S. market share of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% in 2011, to 0.66% in 2015, to 1.13% in 2017, 2.1% in 2018, slightly declined to 1.9% in 2019, rose to 2.2% in 2020, 4.0% in 2021, 6.8% in 2022, and achieved a record 9.1% in 2023. California is the largest regional market in the country, with 1 million plug-in cars registered by November 2021, 46% of the national stock.
As of December 2020, the Tesla Model 3 all-electric car is the all-time best selling plug-in electric car with an estimated 395,600 units delivered, followed by the Tesla Model S electric car with about 172,400, and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid with 157,125 units of both generations. The Model S was the best selling plug-in car in the U.S. for three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017, and the Model 3 also has topped sales for three years running, from 2018 to 2020.
The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 and later the Inflation Reduction Act granted federal tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric vehicles, worth up to US$7,500. As of 2014, Washington, D.C. and 37 states and had established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and PHEVs, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and high-occupancy vehicle lane access.