California EV Registrations Hit Three-Year Low in Q4, Down Year-Over-Year and Quarter-Over-Quarter

Affected by the expiration of the U.S. federal $7,500 electric vehicle (EV) tax credit on September 30, 2023, consumer demand surged in the third quarter as buyers rushed to purchase before the deadline, leading to a significant drop in demand in the fourth quarter. Data shows that new registrations of new energy vehicles (including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel-cell models) in California totaled 79,066 in the fourth quarter of last year, down 27% year-over-year and a sharp 36.6% decline from the previous quarter—far below the third quarter’s figure of 124,755. This marked the lowest quarterly registration volume of the year and the first time since 2022 that quarterly registrations fell below 100,000, setting a three-year low for a single quarter. Meanwhile, the share of EVs in California’s total new vehicle sales plummeted from 10.5% in the third quarter to just 5.8% in the fourth quarter.