Electric Vehicle (EV) registration may have slowed overall in the last six months of 2025, but areas of the region where adoption has historically been slower saw higher growth during the same period.
Zenon Tech-Czarny, Principal Planner, Environmental Planning, provided the Regional EV Registration Update at the Feb. 9, 2026, meeting of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC).
There were 272,376 registered EVs in New Jersey at the end of 2025, including 212,721 in the NJTPA’s 13-county region. The number fell short of the state’s goal of having 330,000 on the road by the end of 2025. In the second half of 2025, there were 16,762 new EVs registered in the region. While that was a 9-percent increase, there were 5,201 fewer registrations than the previous six-month period. It’s the lowest increase since June 2023 and the lowest percentage increase since tracking began in 2018.
Slower growth is likely due to the changing EV landscape in New Jersey, Tech-Czarny said, including adoption of a state EV user fee; fewer people purchasing Teslas, which is the best-selling EV company; and the expiration of federal EV tax credits in September 2025.
Even though Tesla accounts for 47 percent of plug-in electric vehicles and 61 percent of battery electric vehicles to date, its dominance is waning. In 2021, 55 percent of new EVs in New Jersey were Teslas. That share began to drop significantly in 2024, and in 2025 Tesla’s accounted for 36 percent of new EVs as other car manufacturers introduce new EV models to the market.
There was faster growth in areas that have historically been slow to transition to EVs. Ocean, Passaic, and Warren Counties saw increases of as much as 11 to 12 percent, driven by growth in Lakewood and Manchester in Ocean County; urban areas within Passaic, including Clifton, Passaic, and Paterson; and central Warren County enclaves from Belvidere to Mansfield Township. View an interactive map of NJTPA EV Registration Data here.
Bergen County (40,552) and Middlesex County (32,448) continue to lead the state in the number of EVs overall. Bergen County and Somerset County have the highest percentage of EVs, about 6 percent of all vehicles.
The NJTPA’s EV Resources Page provides information and more for local governments, businesses, and advocates in the NJTPA region, and its partner Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) offer education and information as well. The NJTPA’s Subregional Studies Program equips subregions with EV readiness and planning, such as Somerset County’s ongoing Electric Vehicle Charging and Suitability Analysis. The study aims to identify and analyze EV charging corridors and public charging locations on County-owned sites, as well as develop a transition plan for the County’s fleet.
A recording of the RTAC meeting and related materials can be found here.