Montana is Way Below the Average in Seeing EV Vehicles in Neighborhoods
When my kids were younger and we would be driving through Montana, my family and I used to play "Spot the Tesla" as we drove. Not only did it make the time go by quicker, it also kept the family busy while driving the vast distances across our state. When we started playing the game, at the time, there weren't that many Tesla in the state.
Electric Vehicles Are Still Fairly Rare in Montana
Fast forward to today and you can still play "Spot the Tesla" while driving in Montana, you may see more of them, but Montana is still behind the rest of the country when it comes to electric vehicles. According to a report by Marketwatch.com, more than a third of Americans have never seen an electric vehicle in their neighborhood. Montana's numbers might be much higher than that.
Montana Has a Long Way to Go to Have As Many EV as Other States
According to numbers from the U.S. Department of Energy, as of 2022 there were only 3,300 electric vehicles and 1,700 plug-in hybrid vehicles registered in Montana. Which is a lot more than our neighbors. North Dakota and Wyoming, each only had 600 electric vehicles in 2022. Compare that with the 765,400 gasoline powered vehicles in Montana and not everyone will be seeing them driving around their neighborhoods just yet. I am sure the numbers have gone up since 2022, I personally know a few people who have purchased electric vehicles since then. Montana has also increased it's electric vehicle charging stations, but that doesn't mean there are a lot more electric vehicles.
Read More: Montana's EV Charging Boom
Montana's Electric Vehicle Tax May Hinder Montanans Purchasing EVs
With the addition of Electric Vehicle Charging Station tax in Montana, that began in 2023, it may be even longer before you see electric vehicles in most of the neighborhoods in Montana.
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