Sales of electric vehicles (EV) continued to grow in the second half of 2023, though not quite as strongly as the exceptional growth of the first half.
Zenon Tech-Czarny, Principal Planner, Environmental Planning, provided a regional electric vehicle update to the Joint Project Prioritization and Planning and Economic Development Committee during its June 17 meeting.
There was a 24-percent increase in EV registrations in the last six months of 2023 compared with a 35-percent jump in the prior six months, but the difference only came down to about 2,000 vehicles overall. There were 23,865 new vehicles registered in the most recent period versus 25,824 in the previous six-month period. “Growth is still fairly strong, but it needs to be much more to reach the statewide goal of 330,000 by 2025,” Tech-Czarny said.
Total registrations are rising overall but they’re also rising in every county in the NJTPA region and in relationship to other vehicles, Tech-Czarny said. Somerset County leads in EV percentage relative to total vehicles at almost 4 percent, followed by Bergen and Middlesex counties. Bergen and Essex counties have the highest numbers of EVs and saw the most gains. The EV Index, which accounts for both the number and percentage of EVs, showed high adoption rates in municipalities like Edison and South Brunswick.
The significant surge in EV adoption is thanks in part to New Jersey’s Charge Up program and the introduction of the Tesla Model Y, which both occurred in 2020. The Model Y is the most popular EV in New Jersey with more than 31,000 in the NJTPA’s 13-county region. Overall, Tesla makes up 66,529 vehicles out of the more than 122,000 EVs in the region.
Tech-Czarny said the NJTPA collects and analyzes EV data, incorporates EV data into greenhouse gas emissions inventories, and develops strategy documents to promote EV adoption. EVs are also key to part of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality and Carbon Reduction Programs, among others. The approach is cyclical, where data informs strategy, leading to implementation, which in turn generates new data.
More information on EVs is available at the NJTPA's EV Resources Hub at NJTPA.org/EV including funding opportunities for EV infrastructure through Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) programs.
A recording of the Joint meeting, including the EV data presentation, can be accessed here.