President Trump frequently targets California in policy matters. His administration has focused on issues like immigration, transgender athletes, guns, voting rights, and electric vehicles (EVs) in the state. While the federal government slows the shift to EVs, California aims for carbon neutrality by 2045 and to reduce gasoline-powered vehicles.
In recent months, President Trump has taken steps to undermine California’s progress, as reported by Hayley Smith. This includes repealing the federal tax credit for EV buyers and rescinding the legal finding that greenhouse gases are harmful, which underpins the regulation of vehicle emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Last year, Trump’s administration revoked California’s authority to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal default. It also overturned the state’s EV sales targets. Nonetheless, EV adoption in California holds strong, even as national sales dipped after the end of the federal rebate in 2025. In the recent quarter, nearly 19% of new cars sold in California were zero-emission vehicles, significantly higher compared to national figures.
Electric Vehicle Sales Trends
Zero-emission vehicles now account for about one in 12 cars and pickups on California roads, and nearly one in six new cars are fully electric. As state lawmakers approve significant incentives to counteract lost federal rebates, California sees a rise in used EV purchases.
The state faces a legal battle defending its 2035 ban on new gasoline-powered car sales. Should California lose, it must explore alternative emissions reductions in other sectors, according to Lindsay Buckley from the California Air Resources Board.
Charging Station Expansion
The number of EV chargers in California surpasses gasoline nozzles, with over 216,000 publicly available chargers, as noted by the state Energy Commission. The Trump administration attempted to freeze new funding for public chargers by halting the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. California challenged this freeze successfully in court and continued to expand charger availability.
Of 806 new public fast-charging stations added nationwide in a recent quarter, around one in seven were in California. The state ranks high in fast charger usage, trailing only Washington, D.C., and Hawaii.
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