California recorded its highest-ever zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales in the third quarter of 2025, with ZEVs making up 29.1% of all new car sales. Buyers purchased 124,755 ZEVs during the quarter, surpassing the previous record of 26.9% set in 2023. The milestone brings California’s cumulative ZEV sales to more than 2.46 million vehicles.
The state continues to expand its electric vehicle infrastructure to support rising demand. The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently adopted the nation’s first EV charger reliability and reporting standards and approved National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) projects to install 64 fast chargers along major highway corridors. The CEC also awarded over $10 million in grants to install more than 1,000 Level 2 charging ports in multifamily and low-income housing areas.
California now hosts more than 200,000 publicly accessible EV chargers, with additional chargers at workplaces, residential buildings, and public facilities. These investments aim to make ZEV ownership more practical statewide and further the state’s transition toward cleaner transportation.