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A new study from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation found that Alabama ranks 19th in its ratio of electric vehicles per charging port.
The market share of new EV sales in Alabama was 2.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023– up from 2.4 percent in Q2 2023 and 2.3 percent in Q3 2022.
There are 14,883 EVs on the road in Alabama and 822 publicly available charging outlets – a ratio of 18 EVs for every public port. This includes 299 DC Fast chargers.
The state of Alabama is working to accommodate the increased adoption of EVs. In August, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) announced $1.2 million in state grants for construction of EV charging stations. That’s the third straight year ADECA has awarded EV infrastructure grants in a program that’s now invested more than $7.5 million to increase the number of publicly available charging stations.
Alabama companies have taken notice of the growing popularity of EVs. Alabama Power, for instance, offers an discounting overnight rate for EV owners from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., as well as a $500 rebate for EV owners who install a Level 2 charger at home.
Automobile manufacturing remains one of the state’s leading industries as Alabama ranks as the No. 3 auto exporting state, trailing only Michigan and South Carolina. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama workers build all-electric luxury SUVsfor Mercedes, and Hyundai builds the electric Genesis GV70 SUV in Montgomery.
“It’s impossible to overstate the impact Mercedes-Benz has had on Alabama’s economy since the company decided to build its manufacturing plant here in the 1990s,” said state Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa. “As Mercedes continues to electrify its fleet, it’s important that we embrace this changing industry so that the high-paying jobs it creates stay right here in Alabama and we can continue to grow our economy.”
