Electric vehicles gain popularity in Virginia

The popularity of electric vehicles is surging, but they're still a relative rarity in Virginia.

Why it matters: The world is in the midst of a global transition away from gasoline-powered vehicles, partially driven by environmental concerns, Axios' Joann Muller reports.

• Though American buyers aren't as enthusiastic as consumers in Europe and Asia, progress is noticeable.

The big picture: EV registrations in the U.S. have doubled over the past year, to about 5% of all new cars. Shoppers have dozens of new choices, with many more makes and models on the way.

Yes, but: Overall, EVs still account for a tiny fraction of all vehicles in both Virginia and the U.S.

Zoom in: As of last month, there were just under 40,000 electric vehicles registered in Virginia, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

• That's less than 0.5% of the 8.4 million vehicles with Virginia tags.

What's next: There are signs that EVs are catching on locally.

• In April, 2% of cars registered in the Richmond area were electric, according to data provided by S&P Global Mobility.
• But we're still talking about a relatively small number of vehicles: 71 total.

What we're driving: Of those 71 cars, 12 were Ford Mustang Mach-Es, 11 were Hyundai Ioniq 5s, and seven were Kia EV6s.

What we're watching: Efforts to bolster Virginia's electric car charging infrastructure faltered in the General Assembly this year.

• State lawmakers rejected legislation that would have spent $40 million to speed the buildout of charging stations.
• But lawmakers approved a bipartisan bill that orders state agencies to buy electric vehicles in cases in which the state calculates they would have a lower lifetime cost, the Virginia Mercury reports.