(June 15, 2023) Electric and hybrid vehicles made up half of all new retail vehicle registrations in the San Francisco area in March and April this year, S&P Global Mobility found. It is the first major U.S. metropolitan area to achieve that level of electrified vehicle penetration. New-vehicle buyers in the San Francisco area are younger and wealthier than the average in other major U.S. metropolitan areas. People under 45 and those with household incomes of at least $75,000 buy the most EVs nationally, according to S&P.

In the U.S., electric and hybrid vehicles made up just 16.6 percent of registrations in March. Meanwhile in the San Francisco area, battery electric vehicles claimed a 34.2 percent market share and hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles together added 15.8 percent. Electrified vehicles claimed record market share in the area again in April with 53.1 percent of registrations, according to S&P.

Asian consumers are also more likely to buy EVs, and that's a demographic that matches a larger segment of San Francisco's population than most regions, according to S&P.

"When you look at the San Francisco buyer in general, it is similar to the EV buyer," said Thomas Libby, a manager with S&P Global Mobility focused on U.S. new and used vehicle industries.

The wealth in the area also plays a big role in EV penetration, according to S&P Global Mobility. The highest penetration rates for EVs in the area are not in San Francisco's city limits, but in wealthy suburbs such as Los Altos, Saratoga, Piedmont and Orinda. Almost half of new-vehicle buyers in the area in March had household incomes of $200,000 or more and more than three-quarters had household incomes of at least $75,000.

Source: Automotive News