As EV Sales Lag,
California Cities Double Down
on Charging Stations
California leads the charge to switch from petroleum-guzzling vehicles to electric cars. Cities and counties are grappling with the many problems involved in setting up charging stations in single-family homes, multi-family units and separate charging stations in shopping centers.
Much uncertainty remains over just how fast and far the switch to EVs will proceed. Gov. Gavin Newsom mandated that 100% of new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 must be EVs. A crucial deadline drives up in 2026, when the mandate is 35%. But CalMatters reported in February the proportion rose from 25% in 2023 to just 25.3% in 2024.
“The sales are declining,” said Don Simpson, who owns three car dealerships in Orange County. “We’ve filled that gap of people who want those cars — and now they have them — and we’re not seeing a big, huge demand. I don’t see households going 100% EV.”
Then there’s President Donald Trump’s executive order on his first day back in office “to eliminate the ‘electric vehicle’ (EV) mandate and promote true consumer choice.” But according to Kenny Stein, vice president of policy at the Institute for Energy Research, in addition, “three major regulatory actions must be revised or rejected”:
- The tailpipe emissions standards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
- The Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards from the EPA and the Department of Transportation;
- California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, “granted a waiver from Clean Air Act preemption during Biden’s lame duck period.”
The up to $7,500 federal tax rebate for buying an EV also will continue for now because it was enacted by Congress and cannot be canceled by Trump. But on February 2 Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., introduced a bill to repeal it.
Sorting that out actually gives the EV industry and its customers time to iron out some problems in the industry, mainly the need for more charging stations, especially in cities. Last August, Newsom boasted the state surpassed 150,000 chargers installed statewide, including 137,648 Level 2 chargers and 14,708 Level 3 fast chargers. But more are needed.
There’s a three-level pyramid of charging EVs:
- Level 1: 120-volt home outlets, charging 3 to 5 miles per hour;
- Level 2: 240-volt home outlets, and outlets at offices, malls, hotels, and parking lots, charging 25-40 miles per hour;
- Level 3: 400-volts-plus DC fast-chargers, pumping in 100-250+ miles in 15-30 minutes.
The Level 3 chargers commonly are used for people taking long-distance trips. The industry “is doing a pretty good job outside large metro areas” installing the Level 3 chargers in California and in other states, John Higham told me; he’s a board member of the San Diego-based Electric Vehicle Association. Surprisingly, rural areas in many cases are better served than urban areas because you don’t have to wait in line. By contrast, cities and counties commonly don’t have enough public chargers, so you’re more likely to wait in line. He said, “EVs have become a victim of their own success.”
Higham said home chargers in new homes can cost a minimal amount, from $800 to $2,000, and become a feature adding value to a home. But retrofitting older homes costs from $5,000 up to $35,000. It commonly requires digging around the foundation to install new power lines. Only wealthy people can afford that. Some utilities offer subsidies for the installation.
As to condos and apartments, retrofitting also is a big problem. In 2022, Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1482, which would have required installing EV charging stations in new, multifamily dwellings. He said in his veto message, “[T]his issue is best addressed administratively in order to balance our charging objectives with our efforts to expand affordable housing.”
EV Info reported in 2026 California’s building code now mandates at least one EV charger space must be installed for each new multi-housing unit. In addition, “New hotels must have 65% of their parking spaces EV ready, with the option for cities to increase this to 100%. For commercial, office, or retail parking lots, 20% of spaces must be EV ready, with a potential increase to 30% or 45%, depending on local regulations.”
Installing more EV charging stations is especially difficult for built-out cities, Newport Beach City Councilman Erik Weigand told me; he previously served eight years on the city’s Planning Commision. “We have to tear up the infrastructure to put in stations,” he said. “That’s our biggest struggle.”
He said the Fashion Island shopping mall installed “nice Level 2 chargers. It makes sense because it’s the free market saying: Come here and have lunch, and maybe buy something while your car is charging.” He said the mandate for chargers at new multifamily units also makes sense because the infrastructure already is being dug up. “We have a few projects that will be doing that.” Otherwise, with old structures, “having chargers put in really is a cost struggle.”
Will these Orange County cities be ready to electrify the 2035 100% mandate? “No,” he said. “The grandiose ideas of electrification are challenging in cities that are already built out. But Irvine has stations everywhere.” Indeed, I live in Irvine. My old apartment complex does not have chargers, even though maybe 25% of neighbors drive EVs, including the new VinFast from Vietnam. But the nearby shopping centers all sport chargers.
The chargers also are numerous in neighboring Tustin. Here’s a picture I took of charging stations right next to a Berry Brothers gas station at the corner of Red Hill Avenue and Walnut Avenue.
In sum, what seems likely is EV use will continue to increase, bolstered by the gradual installation of more charging stations. But the percentage of EV vehicles sold will not reach 100% by 2035, or ever. The next governor, taking office in 2027, is going to have to deal with the reality of scaling back electron utopia.
John Seiler is on the Editorial Board of the Southern California News Group.
