San Francisco sets U.S. electrified vehicle uptake record

Electric and hybrid vehicles made up half of all new retail vehicle registrations in the San Francisco area in March and April this year, S&P Global Mobility found. It is the first major U.S. metropolitan area to achieve that level of electrified vehicle penetration.

In the U.S., electric and hybrid vehicles made up just 16.6 percent of registrations in March 2023. Meanwhile in the San Francisco area, battery electric vehicles claimed a 34.2 percent market share and hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles together added 15.8 percent. Electrified vehicles claimed record market share in the area again in April with 53.1 percent of registrations, according to S&P.

New-vehicle buyers in the San Francisco area are younger and wealthier than the average in other major U.S. metropolitan areas — a dream combination. People under 45 and those with household incomes of at least $75,000 buy the most EVs nationally, according to S&P.

Asian consumers are also more likely to buy EVs, and that's a demographic that matches a larger segment of San Francisco's population than most regions, according to S&P.

"When you look at the San Francisco buyer in general, it is similar to the EV buyer," said Thomas Libby, a manager with S&P Global Mobility focused on U.S. new and used vehicle industries.

The wealth in the area also plays a big role in EV penetration, according to S&P Global Mobility. The highest penetration rates for EVs in the area are not in San Francisco's city limits, but in wealthy suburbs such as Los Altos, Saratoga, Piedmont and Orinda. Almost half of new-vehicle buyers in the area in March had household incomes of $200,000 or more and more than three-quarters had household incomes of at least $75,000.

The San Francisco area is not an outlier. The San Diego, Seattle, Sacramento and Los Angeles metropolitan areas rival the San Francisco area for the top spot in EV market share. Tesla's presence primed the West Coast to lead in EV uptake, Libby said, as did the region's tendency to quickly embrace trends and technology.

But the rest of the country is likely to follow, according to Libby, as automakers invest in transforming their businesses to focus on EVs.

The 50 percent milestone in the San Francisco area "is a reflection not only of the growing market share but also of awareness of EVs and acceptance of the concept," Libby said.