Electric-vehicle registrations in the state accelerated by 41% in 2022, topping out at nearly 54,000 through the end of December.

Overall, North Carolina added nearly 17,000 plug-in vehicles last year compared to an increase of about 13,000 in 2021. That growth rate would put North Carolina on pace to meet Gov. Roy Cooper’s goal of reaching at least 80,000 “zero-emission” registrations by 2025.

However, the state faces a steep climb to reach Cooper’s longer-term target of having 1.25 million EVs on the road by the end of this decade, an N.C. Department of Transportation official acknowledged.

“Certainly, we’re really excited about the progress,” Jen Weiss, NCDOT’s senior adviser on climate change, said in an interview with the Journal. “But I think there’s a lot of work to do just to make (electric vehicles) more mainstream, make people more aware of the benefits of EVs and get the charging infrastructure out there to make them more comfortable with range.”

In 10 Triad counties, a combined 45% increase in electric cars and trucks last year outpaced statewide growth, according to an analysis of recently released data from NCDOT.

Like in most of the state, electric vehicle use in the Triad continues to largely mirror population, with Guilford topping the list at 2,249 EVs and Forsyth reaching 1,388 last year.

Guilford’s 49% EV growth rate was among the largest in the Triad in 2022, eclipsed only by a 56% jump in Davie County, where a total of just 154 electric vehicles have been registered overall.

Guilford (58 EVs per 10,000 registered vehicles) and Forsyth (48 per 10,000) also led the region in per-capita plug-in cars and trucks.

Those figures remain behind the state’s 63 EVs per 10,000 — a rate driven by North Carolina’s two largest counties. Wake County reached 156 EVs per 10,000 vehicles in 2022 and Mecklenburg was at 113 per 10,000.

Those two counties, which represent 21.5% of the state’s population, accounted for 41% of North Carolina’s registered EVs, according to NCDOT.

One driver of plug-in vehicle use in the state’s two most-populous counties is that they’re home to North Carolina’s only Tesla sales center.

Tesla is responsible for about two-thirds of electric vehicle sales in the U.S., so proximity is a boost for EV saturation in Wake, Mecklenburg and surrounding counties.

Concentrations of corporate headquarters, research centers and professional campuses in the Triangle and Charlotte region also mean there are plenty of residents in those areas who can afford the still-higher sticker prices for electric vehicles.

And in many cases, bigger companies are more likely to provide charging stations for employees who drive EVs.

North Carolina classifies traditional EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) as “zero-emission” vehicles subject to the state’s registration goals.

About 29% of the state’s registered plug-in vehicles are PHEVs, but labeling them as entirely zero-emission is a misnomer because their exhaust emits carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas that is the primary contributor to human-caused climate change. However, the level of emissions is considerably less for plug-in hybrids compared to traditional gas-powered vehicles.

The chief benefit of PHEVs, compared to traditional hybrids that aren’t charged externally, is that they operate on electricity until the battery is nearly empty, which is why they’re classified as zero-emission by the state, the NCDOT’s Weiss explained.

“For the most part, when people are driving to work or to school, it’s 20 miles or 25 miles or less, so the commuting time is within the range of the plug-in hybrid,” she said.

Bud Stentz of Winston-Salem considers his 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV an ideal bridge between traditional vehicles and entirely electric cars and trucks.

“I get 45 miles on a charge, which I can do on a normal 110-volt plug in my garage every night (without) a special plug or circuit,” he said. “The charge in the batteries will take me almost everywhere I need to go during the day. No emissions.”

Because plug-in hybrids like Stentz’s have smaller batteries — and considerably less range — than those in standard EVs, they can refresh without the use of a powerful DC fast charger.

“They refute every argument about electric vehicles and they are available right now,” Stentz said of PHEVs, noting common concerns about access to chargers and the lack of available new EV inventory.

He added that he typically buys from three to five gallons of gas a month when he visits his son, who works for the Army at Fort Bragg, or drives to Charlotte, and that his Honda gets 40 miles per gallon when operating in hybrid mode.

“I do not have to worry where the next charging station is or how long it takes to charge my vehicle,” Stentz noted.

State registrations for standard hybrids, meanwhile, climbed to nearly 168,000 in 2022, an increase of 11.5%.

No-plug hybrids — powered by an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors — are not part of the state’s EV goals. Batteries in traditional hybrids are charged through energy generated when the vehicle’s brakes are applied and by the gas-powered engine when it is engaged, so they are continuously shifting between electric and gas-powered modes.

Weiss, who’s coordinating NCDOT’s effort to increase EV use, reduce vehicle emissions and create a statewide charging network, suggested that 2022’s growth in electric vehicles is a welcome sign of momentum.

“You’ve seen in just the last year all the (EV) manufacturers that are coming out with new kinds of models, different types of battery levels and price points,” she said. “I think it’s just going to be important for them to continue to do that, and for us as a state agency to just educate everyone in North Carolina about what those opportunities are.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year, established $7,500 tax credits for EVs assembled in North America.

Eligible cars must be priced at $55,000 or less, while vans, sport utility vehicles can’t exceed $80,000.

Married couples filing joint tax returns who earn $300,000 or less qualify for the plug-in vehicle credit. The limit is $150,000 for individual filers.

In most cases, the $7,500 credit won’t cover the entire difference between an EV and comparable traditional vehicle with a combustible engine. For example, the base price of a 2023 Ford F150 Lightning is about $20,000 higher than a standard F-150, and there’s a $12,000 difference between a new Jeep Wrangler Saharah EV and its traditional counterpart.

But while upfront EV costs are higher, studies show that plug-in vehicles are considerably less expensive to maintain, and the cost of electricity for charging is a fraction of what owners would pay for gas over a car or truck’s lifetime.

« I have not needed any service for about a year, » said Bill Blancato, a Winston-Salem attorney who drives a 2020 Tesla Model S Long Range Plus. « We now have 38,000 miles on the car. Other than a couple of warranty issues, there’s been no maintenance except new tires and wiper blades. »

Those selling points — along with a reliable network of charging stations and falling EV prices as battery costs continue to shrink — will continue to convince North Carolina drivers to plug in, Weiss predicted. 

“We at DOT can’t tell anyone what kind of car to drive, and we don’t want to,” she said. “But we can certainly make available the different options and education on those options. It’s an all-in strategy. Everyone’s working together to make it happen. »