State ranks third nationally for customers who buy electric vehicles

Car buyers in the state of Washington rank among America’s top consumers of hybrid and electric vehicles, reports Edmunds.com, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based automotive information research firm.

Edmunds.com’s analysis of Polk’s new car registration data finds that 5.7 percent of all new electric vehicles sold so far in the U.S. this year were registered in Washington, ranking the state third behind California (32 percent) and Florida (6.6 percent), according to an Oct. 31 Edmunds media release.

The rate is more than three times the state’s share of all new car registrations in the U.S., where Washington ranks 20th overall at 1.6 percent. The Evergreen State also buys a higher proportion of the country’s hybrid vehicles (3.1 percent), ranking eighth in the nation.

The news comes in what’s shaping up to be the strongest year yet for alternative fuel vehicles nationwide. Edmunds.com found that 3.4 percent of new car registrations this year (through August) were hybrid or electric vehicles, which is a full percentage point higher than the rate of 2.4 percent for all of 2011.

“Mainstream car buyers have been slow to accept hybrid and electric vehicles, but the numbers are trending up, and you can almost hear a sigh of relief from automakers who made big bets on these vehicles,” said Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell. “As more alt-fuel vehicles come to the market and as prices for these cars become more affordable, we expect a higher percentage of shoppers will at least consider an alternative fuel vehicle the next time they’re buying a new car.”

Edmunds.com projects that at least 43 all-new conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery-electric vehicles, diesels and fuel-cell electric vehicles are planned for introduction in the U.S. from now through the 2015 model year.