The Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey pushed back on the state’s announcement Tuesday that N.J. had reached a significant milepost by surpassing 200,000 electric vehicle registrations.
In the state’s release, it said that as of Sept. 30, nearly 208,000 battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or EVs, are now registered with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, more than double the number of EVs registered in the state just two years ago.
The state said it was evidence of consumer support.
Eric DeGesero, the executive vice president for the fuel merchants, questioned why the state did not detail how many hybrid electric vehicles were registered – as it did this summer. Hybrid electric vehicles use a combination of electricity and gas for power.
“For the period ending June 30, 2024, BEV, PHEV, and HEV statistics were all released,” he said. “At that time, it showed there were almost as many HEVs registered (172,032) as there were BEV+PHEV (183,945) combined,”
These numbers seem to suggest that the appetite for EVs often comes with a car that also uses gas.
DeGesero said he’d like to see the comparison – as has been announced in the past.
“It is unfortunate that the administration decided this time to not release data regarding hybrid electric vehicle registrations,” he said.
