Customers admire a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle at a Tesla store in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Alex Tai | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
U.S. consumers have been making the move to all-electric vehicles more slowly than many expected — but a growing leader in EV adoption is Hawaii.
The tropical island state this yr ranks fifth in overall EV adoption at 11.9% of recent retail vehicles sold through February, in line with J.D. Power.
Hawaii also ranks third – behind only California (46.1) and Washington (37) – in J.D. Power’s “EV Adoption Rating,” which is weighted based on market, consumer preference and EV availability, amongst other conditions, with a rating of 33.8.
“We measure adoption relative to availability, meaning shoppers need availability of EVs that meet their needs … before they’ll even consider adopting,” said Elizabeth Krear, vp of the electrical vehicle practice at J.D. Power. “In California, the amount of EVs is way higher than in Hawaii. But when consumers are given a viable option, 33% are selecting to purchase the EV.”
Hawaii is also the highest state for EV adoption that hasn’t agreed to the California Air Resources Board’s Zero-Emission Vehicle program, in line with J.D. Power. Those rules promote EVs and include stricter vehicle emissions and miles per gallon standards for traditional vehicles in places which have adopted the measure, including the opposite top five states: California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado.
Why Hawaii?
What is going on on in Hawaii that is resulting in more consumers choosing EVs? It’s a mixture of things but mainly high fuel costs, the provision of renewable energy for charging and culture, in line with Ivan Drury, director of insights at auto research firm Edmunds, who lives in Waikiki on Hawaii’s Oahu Island.
“There may be a better sense of responsibility towards stewarding the land versus most mainland states. For those who look up ‘Aina’ in Hawaiian, you see what I mean, numerous pride for the land,” he said.
Drury also said the recognition of hybrid models within the state (at 19% in 2023) has helped within the switch to EVs, and road trip concerns – a hurdle for some buyers within the U.S. – aren’t really an issue in Hawaii.
“We’re on an island. Nobody is absolutely apprehensive about road trips unless they survive the Big Island,” he said. (For reference, the “Hawaii Belt” across the Big Island, or Hawaii Island, is just about 260 miles.)
Gasoline prices also play an element, as they do in other states, resembling California. The typical price for a gallon of gas in Hawaii is about $4.72, in line with AAA. That is the best within the U.S. aside from California and $1.10 higher than the national average of $3.62 a gallon.
J.D. Power reports the top-selling EVs within the state are the Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3 and Ford F-150 Lightning.
“I’m really pleased. I just like the automotive. I like not buying gas,” said Scott Sageman, a 2021 Tesla Model 3 owner who has lived on Hawaii’s Big Island since moving from California in 2020.
Aloha Kia Leeward in Waipahu, Hawaii
Aloha Kia
Russell Wong, regional vp of Aloha Kia’s seven stores in Hawaii, said customer interest in EVs continues to grow however the vehicles still remain only about 2% of the stores’ sales.
“While it’s a major percentage of our current sales in comparison with other dealers or other markets, it’s still a really, very small percentage,” he said. “We do see that continuing to climb.”
Wong said there’s been a whole lot of interest in Kia’s recent EV9 SUV that is just arriving to dealerships. The present top-selling EV on the Kia dealerships is the Niro, which is also Kia’s least expensive all-electric vehicle, and Aloha Kia has priced it starting at about $36,000.
EV concerns
Although Hawaii is embracing electric vehicles greater than a few of its peers, it still has lots of the same problems with EV adoption that the U.S. mainland does, including lack of charging infrastructure, affordability and a dearth of auto decisions.
A Gallup poll released Monday found lower than half of U.S. adults, 44%, say they’re either “seriously considering or might consider” buying an EV, which is down from 55% in 2023. The proportion not aspiring to buy an EV has increased from 41% to 48%.
Sageman, who lives on the slope of a volcano, said he has not experienced problems charging, as he does so at home, however the estimated range of his Model 3 could be lower than expected because of the state’s hilly terrain.
“The one thing that I’ve noticed is you don’t pay an excessive amount of attention to the estimated range,” he said. “You are not going to get the identical amount when you’re doing a whole lot of uphill driving.”
The typical cost to a consumer buying an EV from a franchised dealer (excluding Tesla, Rivian and other direst-to-consumer brands) in Hawaii this yr is greater than $62,600, in line with Edmunds. That is down from greater than $68,500 last yr and roughly $12,700 over the common price of a vehicle in Hawaii.
High prices are a national and Hawaiian trend. Upper-income Americans across the country are the subgroup almost definitely to own an EV, with 14% doing so, up from 6% last yr, in line with the Gallup report.
“We’re type of at the acute ends of adoption,” Drury said. “For those able to reap the benefits of an EV, it really works, sold. For those who it doesn’t, it won’t, for a really very long time. Overcoming the obstacles of infrastructure and high costs of living aren’t something that could be taken care of overnight and even inside a couple of years.”