Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States

The fleet of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is the largest in the world, with about 345,000 highway legal plug-in electric cars sold in the country since 2008 through June 2015, and representing about 40% of the global stock. California is the largest plug-in car regional market in the country, with almost 143,000 units sold between December 2010 and March 2015, representing over 46% of all plug-in cars sold in the U.S., and not only had more plug-in electric vehicles than any other American state but also more than any other country. The U.S. market share of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% in 2011 through 0.37% in 2012 to 0.62% of new car sales during 2013.As of July 2015, there are over 20 highway legal plug-in cars available in the American market from 12 car manufacturers, plus several models of electric motorcycles, utility vans and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs). As of June 2015, cumulative sales are led by the Nissan Leaf all-electric car with 82,138 units, followed by the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid with 78,979 units. Ranking next is the all-electric Tesla Model S with about 49,720 units sold through June 2015, and the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid with 40,992 units.The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric vehicles. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins. The federal tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is worth between US$2,500 and US$7,500 depending on battery capacity. As of November 2014, a total of 37 states and Washington, D.C. have established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and PHEVs, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and high-occupancy vehicle lane access. The U.S. government also has pledged US$2.4 billion in federal grants to support the development of next-generation electric cars and batteries, and US$115 million for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in 16 different metropolitan areas around the country. As of March 2013, the United States had 5,678 charging stations across the country, led by California with 1,207 stations (21.3%). In terms of public charging points, there were 19,472 public outlets available across the country by the end of December 2013, again led by California with 5,176 (26.6%) public charging points.In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama set the goal for the U.S. to become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Considering the actual slow rate of PEV sales, since mid-2012 several industry observers have concluded that this goal is unattainable. The Governor of California, Jerry Brown, issued an executive order in March 2012 that established the goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on California roads by 2015. In September 2014, the Charge Ahead California Initiative set the additional goal to have at least 1 million zero-emission vehicles and near-zero-emission vehicles in California by January 1, 2023.