DETROIT – Michigan ranks 41 out of 50 states for factors that make it easier to own and use an electric vehicle, according to a new survey – defined as “friendliness.”
Bumper, an online car reporting service, zeroed in on the financial incentives and infrastructure in states. Michigan, where General Motors and Ford Motor Company are focused on selling electric vehicles, fell to the Bottom 10.
The Least EV-Friendly States
| Rank | State | EV Friendly Score (lower is better) |
| 41 | Michigan | 31.9 |
| 42 | Minnesota | 31.9 |
| 43 | Arkansas | 33.2 |
| 44 | Louisiana | 33.9 |
| 45 | Kentucky | 33.9 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 34.4 |
| 47 | Mississippi | 34.9 |
| 48 | South Carolina | 35.7 |
| 49 | Alabama | 36.0 |
| 50 | Alaska | 40.3 |
US President Joseph Biden called for half of all new vehicles to be electric or hybrid electric cars by 2030. A raft of major manufacturers pledged to stop selling internal-combustion vehicles in the next 15 years.
Meanwhile, demand for electric cars is far outstripping supply. Industry leader Tesla broke $1 billion in quarterly income for the first time in July. Kelly Blue Book reports electric vehicle sales in the second quarter of this year were up 255 percent year-over-year.
Bumper ranked financial incentives by five metrics:
- Number of rebates and tax incentives found in each state
- Recharge cost
- Average price of gas
- Mean travel time to work
- State cost of an EV versus cost of a gas-powered vehicle
We ranked infrastructure scores by five metrics:
- Number of new charging stations since 2017
- Number of charging stations per 100,000 population
- Number of EVSE ports per 100 charging stations
- Number of EVSE ports per 100 EV vehicle registrations
- EV registrations as a percentage of all motor vehicles in the state
And when you boil them all down, the key takeaways are:
- Washington is the best state for owning an electric vehicle; Alaska, the worst. The top states include Washington, Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts and California. On the other end of the spectrum, Alaska, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi and South Dakota are the worst states.
- Washington and Illinois are the top states for financial incentives to own an EV. The top states across five broad categories charting financial incentives are Washington, Illinois, Utah, Colorado and Oregon. The worst states for financial incentives are Kansas, Alaska, South Carolina, South Dakota and Rhode Island.
- Vermont and California top the list for best electric vehicle infrastructure. States earning top scores for EV infrastructure are Vermont, California, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. States at the bottom for infrastructure are Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana, Wisconsin and Alabama.
- California and New York are leading the growth for the total number of new EV charge stations. From January 2017 through Aug. 5, 2021, the leader in new EV stations is by far California (11,833), followed by New York (2,273), Florida (1,901), Texas (1,771) and Massachusetts (1,662).
Against this backdrop of burgeoning electric car interest, Bumper analyzed which states are best positioned for the growing demand for electric vehicles.
Bumper’s study ranks states looking at 10 metrics—five related to infrastructure, such as availability and growth of EV charging stations, and five related to financial considerations, including the cost to purchase and power EV cars and the average travel time to work.
To read the full study, click on https://www.bumper.com/analysis/best-states-for-electric-cars/#overall-ev-factors-by-state
