The state has reached a ratio of five gas stations per one charging station for electric cars
California is seeing rapid growth in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. California now has one fast-charging station for electric vehicles for every five regular gas stations, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Saturday.
California has held the lead in the United States in the number of electric vehicles and charging stations for them for several years in a row, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. There are more than 105 thousand public or private chargers installed throughout the state, as well as over 500 thousand home charging stations for electric vehicles.
Newsom noted in a tweet the opening of Tesla's network of super-fast charging stations for third-party electric vehicles, calling it “huge news for California drivers.” According to him, access to thousands of Tesla fast chargers in addition to the existing 10 thousand public fast charging stations in the state significantly expands the charging network for electric cars.
Although the number of conventional gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations are not directly comparable, since refilling with gasoline is faster than DC fast charging, the ability to charge electric vehicles at home reduces the need for frequent use of fast chargers.
California continues to invest heavily in electric vehicle infrastructure. A $1.9 billion plan to roll out an additional 40,000 public charging stations across the state was approved in February. Previously, $1.8 billion had already been invested in this area.
According to the Veloz EV Market Report, more than 1.84 million electric vehicles have been sold in California to date, representing 34% of total new all-electric vehicle sales in the United States. California ranks fourth in the world in sales of electric cars after China, the USA and Germany.