Where Do Hybrid, Electric Cars Sell Best? We Find Out

By Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

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Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield is a self-confessed petrol head. She grew up in a carless family but was able at a very early age to name cars passing her on... More

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2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, production model

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While hybrid and electric cars are becoming more popular throughout the U.S., it isn’t a secret that buyers in some areas are more keen to buy a hybrid or electric car than others. 

Now NPR has published an interactive map detailing just where electric and hybrid cars have proved popular this year, and which states have yet to embrace both technologies.

Using sales data from Edmunds.com, NPR’s Sara Carothers and Alyson Hurt produced as part of a mini series looking into the recent regulations mandating all automakers meet a fleet-wide Corporate Average Fuel Economy of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. 

San Francisco leads

Unsurprisingly, the San Francisco Bay tops electric and hybrid car sales lists for the year, with 8.4 percent of all vehicles being sold comprising of either hybrid or electric cars.  In real world figures, that equates to 26,718 new hybrid or electric cars being sold in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area in one year. 

First 2011 Nissan Leaf delivered to buyer, San Francisco, Dec 2010, photo by Eugene Lee

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A little further south in Monterey and Salinas -- where the city unwisely invested $500,000 in electric vehicle startup Green Vehicles only to see the firm declare bankruptcy  -- sales are equally impressive, with 6.9 percent of all cars being sold in the area comprising of electric or hybrid vehicles. 

Pacific Coast strong

Although San Francisco leads electric and hybrid car sales -- no doubt thanks to various incentives available to assist in purchase of cleaner vehicles -- the entire Pacific coastal region is a stronghold for hybrid and electric cars. 

Interestingly, the map focuses on the percentage of total car sales comprising hybrid or electric cars rather than the total number of sales. As a consequence, smaller cities like Eugene, Oregon outperform larger cities like Phoenix, Arizona since the number of hybrid and electric cars sold in Eugene is a higher percentage of total car sales than those in Phoenix. 

East coast well represented, midwest growing

The eastern sea board is also well represented when it comes to hybrid and electric car sales, although not as strongly as the west coast. 

The midwest is also well represented, with hybrid and electric cars proving reasonably popular in areas with 2 to 4 percent of car buyers in cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City choosing a hybrid or electric car. 

Is Wyoming the antithesis of California?

We’re not sure if it’s because there’s a lack of data for Wyoming or if high mileage cars aren’t popular there, but the NPR map has no data on hybrid and electric car sales for that state. As a consequence, we can only assume that it is the state you’re least likely to see a hybrid or electric car in.  

Gas pump

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Correlations between high population, high gas prices

As you might expect, the NPR map shows a high correlation between areas of high population and a high percentage of electric and hybrid car sales. The data also corresponds nicely to areas where gasoline is at its highest. 

What do you make of the NPR map? Do you think it’s a fair representation of electric and hybrid vehicle popularity in the U.S.? Do you feel your local area is incorrectly represented by the data? 

Let us know in the Comments below. 

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