Pub. 1 2021 Issue 2

36 THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN BOOSTING THE DEMAND FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES D uring the first quarter of 2021, the number of EV sales in the U.S. was greater than 300,000. More specifically, EV sales outperformed the overall market and increased 81% when compared against Q1 2020. The following table shows the exact numbers: Category Q1 2020 Q1 2021 Increase EVs 68,247 98,832 44.82% HEVs/PHEVs 99,719 204,921 105.50% Total EVs, HEVs and PHEVs 167,966 303,753 80.84% Total Market 3,509,299 3,907,738 11.35% Percent Electrified 4.79% 7.77% 62.40% The largest growth was for hybrids and plug-in hybrids. The reason is obvious. Although an increasing number of people are buying EV technology to help counter high gas prices and reduce their carbon footprint, they don’t want to risk running out of fuel when traveling, even if traveling only consists of a short commute. Federal tax credits on some popular models have been phased out, though, and that has caused a corresponding decline in sales. The pandemic also caused a decline, but it wasn’t as big as many people feared when the economy first shut down in March 2020. What is currently sel ling best? Consider EVs first. The main players are Tesla, Chevrolet and Ford. Tesla has the two top spots for 2021 (Model Y is No. 1 and Model S is No. 2), but No. 3 is the Chevrolet Bolt. Chevrolet sold almost 10,000 of them during the first quarter. No. 4, an al l-new