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 much higher than in Hawaii. But when consumers are given a viable option, 33% are selecting to purchase the EV.”
Hawaii also is 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 supply 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 is a higher sense of responsibility towards stewarding the land versus most mainland states. When you 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 in the state (at 19% in 2023) has helped in the switch to EVs, and road trip concerns – a hurdle for some buyers in the U.S. – aren’t really a problem in Hawaii.
“We’re on an island. Nobody is really frightened about road trips unless they live to tell the tale the Big Island,” he said. (For reference, the “Hawaii Belt” across the Big Island, or Hawaii Island, is only about 260 miles.)
Gasoline prices also play a factor, as they do in other states, comparable to California. The typical price for a gallon of gas in Hawaii is about $4.72, in line with AAA. That is the very best in the U.S. apart from California and $1.10 higher than the national average of $3.62 a gallon.
J.D. Power reports the top-selling EVs in the state are the Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3 and Ford F-150 Lightning.
“I’m really completely happy. 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 is a significant percentage of our current sales in comparison with other dealers or other markets, it’s still a very, very small percentage,” he said. “We do see that continuing to climb.”
Wong said there’s been a lot of interest in Kia’s latest EV9 SUV that is just arriving to dealerships. The present top-selling EV on the Kia dealerships is the Niro, which also is 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 car selections.
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 desiring 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 will be lower than expected as a result 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 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 most definitely to own an EV, with 14% doing so, up from 6% last yr, in line with the Gallup report.
“We’re kind of at the intense ends of adoption,” Drury said. “For those in a position to benefit from an EV, it really works, sold. For people who it doesn’t, it won’t, for a very very long time. Overcoming the obstacles of infrastructure and high costs of living aren’t something that will be taken care of overnight and even inside a few years.”