Plug-in vehicles are expected to enjoy a rapid rise in annual sales – but they will be particularly successful in smaller states.
According to Pike Research, yearly sales of the vehicles will reach 358,959 vehicles by 2017 – that’s a compound annual growth rate of 43 per cent between 2011 and 2017. Now Pike has created its own geographic forecast model to predict where the majority of these vehicles will be sold.
It suggests that the most populous states will see the highest sales volumes – particularly across California, New York and Florida. However, in terms of a percentage of total vehicle sales, it is the smaller states that will take the lead – with Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, DC, and Delaware among the top states for plug-in electric vehicle penetration.
Cumulative plug-in electric vehicle sales across California, New York and Florida will reach 366,099, 146,242 and 101,530 units respectively between 2011 and 2017 – this represents 5.4 per cent, 3.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent of the total vehicles sold in each state.
However, Hawaii, which has some of the highest petrol prices in the USA, will see its percentage of plug-in electric vehicle sales reach 6.3 per cent; while Oregon will enjoy 5.4 per cent; Washington, DC 4.6 per cent; and Delaware 4.5 per cent.
According to Pike senior analyst Dave Hurst, penetration will be influenced by several factors including demographics, available infrastructure and consumer attitudes.
