Electric vehicles registered in Arkansas up almost 300% since 2019

Little Rock, Arkansas – According to info from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), compared with the same period in 2021, electric vehicles registered in Arkansas are up 43% in the first five months of 2022, with Benton, Pulaski and Washington counties home to 57% of those.

The number of fully electric vehicles in Arkansas as of Jan. 1 was 2,094, with 2,997 at the end of May, noted info from DFA spokesman Scott Hardin, who said more would be on the road if supply matched demand.

“If there was wider availability of these (fully electric) vehicles, the number would certainly be larger. Within the same time frame (January 1, 2022, to June 1, 2022), the number of hybrid electric vehicles in Arkansas grew from 22,818 to 27,441,” Hardin said.

The number of fully electric vehicles registered in Arkansas has risen 283.7% between the end of 2019 and the end of May 2022.

The substantial growth of electric and hybrid vehicles shows the need for more investment in supporting infrastructure, according to Lauren Waldrip, executive director of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association.

“A vast network of charging stations across the state will only further encourage the more than 40% of Americans who expect to own an electric vehicle in the next five years. The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association eagerly awaits final details regarding Arkansas’s rollout plan of bipartisan infrastructure package funding. The package includes $54 million dollars specifically earmarked for electric vehicle charging stations in the natural state,” Waldrip said in a note to Talk Business & Politics.