CA sales of zero-emission vehicles hit 25.7% but are numbers increasing fast enough?

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday touted numbers showing that one in four new cars sold in California in the second quarter were zero-emission vehicles, or ZEVs. But questions remain about whether the trendlines are flattening.

“We want to dominate in this space,” Newsom said in a conference call with reporters. “We think this is one of the most significant economic opportunities in our lifetime, to move forward in the context of changing the way we produce and consume energy.”

Between April and June, ZEVs accounted for 25.7 percent of all new cars and trucks purchased in the Golden State, according to the California Energy Commission. That’s the second-highest market share recorded for one particular quarter — surpassed only by 26.8 percent in the third quarter of last year.

Under definitions set by state policymakers, battery-electric, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are counted as zero-emission vehicles.

“Today’s numbers demonstrate that consumers in our state are continuing to step up to be part of the solution for climate change and clean air,” Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Res...