SALT LAKE CITY — Gas prices are still at record highs with no relief in sight, but there is a silver lining; sales of hybrid and electric cars have soared, not only saving money for drivers but helping to improve air quality, something that is desperately needed in Utah.
In its latest study, iSeeCars analyzed over 16.3 million used car sales to determine the most popular alternative-fuel vehicles in each city.
In Salt Lake City, the following are the top E-cars:
- Tesla Model 3 (10.4% share)
- Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (6.5%)
- Chevrolet Bold EV (5.2%)
- Toyota Prius (4.1%)
- Nissan Leaf (3.5%)
However, Salt Lake City more than doubled its share of vehicles using alternative fuels, topped only by Houston, with Detroit following closely behind.
"You expect to see strong hybrid and electric vehicle sales in states like California, Oregon and Washington, or in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Seattle,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer.
“While those areas do have the highest percentage of alternative fuel vehicles, the areas with the greatest growth in hybrid and electric vehicle share come from states and cities few would expect.”
Utah is third in that category, topped by Mississippi and Hawaii.
An increase in hybrid and electric vehicle share can translate into overall fleet fuel efficiency; Utah made the top ten on this list as well, with almost a 17 percent change in mpg from 2014 to 2022 from 22 mpg to 25.6 mpg.
