California EV Sales Continue to Lag as Gavin Newsom Fights to Save EV Mandate
Joel B. Pollak3 Aug 2025726
Sales of electric vehicles (EV) in California continue to stagnate, throwing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate in doubt — even as the state fights to save it in court from repeal by Congress and President Donald Trump.
Newsom announced in 2020 — three weeks after a statewide power shortage in which EV owners were asked not to charge cars in the afternoon and evening — that gas-powered vehicle sales would be banned by 2035.
The regulations were finalized in 2022. But sales of EVs have lagged, thanks to cost, the time required to charge, and to “range anxiety” — the fear among drivers that they would lose battery power on the road.
Sales of EVs had already been struggling by December 2024, putting the future of Newsom’s gas-powered vehicle ban in doubt. Then, in May, Congress repealed the waiver granted to California by the outgoing Biden administration in January that purported to give authority to the state to ban gas-powered vehicles and require sales of EVs instead. Newsom and the state filed a lawsuit in response, but sales remain flat.
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2025/08/03/california-ev-sales-continue-to-lag-as-gavin-newsom-fights-to-save-ev-mandate/
