Electric vehicles are no longer just for early adopters. Nearly 20% of all California new cars sold in the last quarter of 2025 were all electric. Now almost everyone knows a neighbor, relative, or co-worker that owns an EV. It helps that EVs are now on par with ICE (internal combustion engine or gas) cars and that range anxiety is a thing of the past since most EVs have 250-400 miles of range.
Charging options 😊
The pleasure of home charging has been a no-brainer since the beginning. Many people can plug into a regular household outlet (about 3-4 miles of charge/hour) or a 220 or dryer outlet for a full charge overnight (30+ miles of charge/hour.) The availability of high-speed public charging continues to expand at a rapid pace. A major part of this expansion has been the adoption of Tesla’s NACS (North American Charging Standard) by most manufacturers. Now almost everyone can use Tesla superchargers, which are EVERYWHERE!
Check out Plugshare and real-time tool to find and review public EV charging stations.
SDGE Rates for EVs 😊
SDGE has special rate plans for people who charge at home. For example, with the TOU-5 plan it is just 11.7¢/kWh from midnight to 6am and until 2 pm on weekends and holidays. This means that an EV with a range of 400 miles and a 100kWh battery pack can go up to 400 miles for $12. See the SDGE website for latest details.
HOV Lane Stickers ☹️
Unfortunately, the ability to drive solo in the carpool lane ended September 2025.
Federal Tax Credit ☹️
The federal $7500 tax credit went away in 2025.
California State Credit 😊
California is working on a point of sale credit for first time EV buyers for new and used EVs. Stay tuned for more info!
Clean Cars 4 All 😊
The California Air Resources Board has a Clean Cars 4 All program that offers incentives up to $12,000 toward an EV purchase.
SDGE used vehicle incentive 😊
Buyers of a used EV can take advantage of a utility rebate of up to $4000. Visit the SDGE website for more details.
EV Info for Businesses 😊
Check out the TEAS program (https://teas.sdge.com/) for businesses that use medium and heavy duty vehicles. EV trucks are amazing work horses – plug into the truck for off-site work, save money powering and maintaining your business’ vehicles!
Highly recommend links to keep up with EV news
https://www.facebook.com/DriveElectricDayton
https://www.facebook.com/ElectricVehicleAssociation
https://www.facebook.com/groups/288405808264004
Electric Vehicle Association: https://myEVA.org
https://www.cleanfuelsohio.org/drive-electric-ohio