Middlesex tops Massachusetts counties in electric vehicle use
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Massachusetts electric vehicle users were most active in Middlesex County this year, but nowhere in the state can compete with the nation's top counties for EV use.
Why it matters: Massachusetts is pushing for residents to buy electric vehicles to reduce the state's carbon footprint, yet remains far from its target of having 200,000 EVs on the road by 2025.
What's happening: Middlesex County saw an estimated 331 electric vehicle miles driven per 1,000 residents on a typical weekday in the second quarter of 2023, Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report from data shared with Axios.
- That's far higher than Hampden and Suffolk counties, which saw under 90 miles per 1,000 residents, but far below Marin County, California, which ranked first in the nation among large counties with 1,942 miles.
How it works: The data, from mobility analytics platform Replica, is based on anonymized mobile device info, roadside sensors, transit agencies and more.
The big picture: Much of the country's EV use is concentrated in the "four corners" of California, the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast and the Southeast.
- Two glaring exceptions? Colorado and Hawai'i.
Zoom in: Massachusetts has more electric vehicles on the road than expected, but is still falling short of its climate targets.
- There were 70,689 light-duty EVs on the road in 2022, the most recent year available, per the state's climate report card released last week.
- The state projected there would be 60,000 in 2022.
Yes, but: Massachusetts needs more charging stations.
- Grid capacity is already a constraint for charging infrastructure, and supply chain issues and high interest rates will likely pose a challenge, per the climate report card.
Between the lines: The areas with the most EV activity are generally those with better-developed charging infrastructure, as well as higher-income households that can more easily afford the electric car premium.