The top five US states for electric vehicle ownership revealed

SEE ALSO: Electric Vehicles, An Environmental Solution or Anti-American Diversion? Or A China Benefiting Tulip-like Mania

* Oklahoma sees largest EV growth with 162 percent increase in sales -

* The BMW i8 is the most searched electric car model -

Recent data analysis by mobile car repair company YourMechanic has ranked the top five US states for electric vehicle ownership.

YourMechanic analyzed electric vehicle (EV) data* to rank each state according to various categories such as - market share, fuel cost, increase in sales and number of people per charging station - to determine which was most ahead of the game for the adoption of electric vehicles:

*To get these results YourMechanic used min-max normalisation to score each factor out of ten before adding all four factors together to get a final score out of 40.

Despite it having the smallest EV market share, Oklahoma came out on top as the number one state for electric vehicle ownership, due to its low fuel costs and the high proportion of charging stations when compared to the overall population.

Oklahoma was also revealed to be the state with the greatest EV sales growth - which increased by a whopping 162 percent last year - particularly impressive when you consider it does not offer incentives to residents when it comes to buying EVs.

South Dakota also showed a high sales increase of 113 percent which, along with Washington and Colorado, resulted in it being ranked in the top five best states for EV ownership.

Interestingly, California was placed second on the list despite it being the state in which the EV is most popular, with over 400,000 units sold between 2008 and 2018.

Though the sunshine state holds the biggest share of the EV market (5.02%), and one of the highest charging stations vs. population ratios, its overall score suffered due to high average re-fuelling cost and poor year-on-year sales increase from 2016-2017.

YourMechanic also analysed which EV models were the most searched for on Google to determine the most popular makes across all US states.

YourMechanic discovered the BMW i8, a hybrid sports car, is the most searched for EV model despite being one of the most expensive, beating more reasonably priced options such as the Chevy Bolt and the Kia Soul EV.

Coming in second and third place are the highly popular Tesla Model X and Tesla Model S, a surprising find due to the brand being highly associated with electric cars.

Rob Francis, VP, Growth & Operations at YourMechanic<http://www.yourmechanic.com>, commented on the findings saying:

"With electric cars being such a popular talking point this year, it is eye opening to see how the market has evolved within the US to determine which state is the best for EV owners.

"As California continues to rule the electric car market, it is exciting to see other states like Oklahoma and Washington now also making a significant positive impact.

"With most states showing some sort of shift towards increased EV adoption - whether it be through increased sales or low fuel cost - our research has helped us to see a clearer picture of where the future US EV market is heading."

You can view YourMechanic's full US EV map and further information on this topic here<https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/states-electric-vehicles> About YourMechanic:

YourMechanic<https://www.yourmechanic.com/> is the industry leader in mobile car repair, offering more than 600 repair, maintenance, and diagnostic services. YourMechanic is available in the top 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. YourMechanic connects mobile mechanics to customers who seek affordable, convenient, and honest car repair services at their home or office, seven days a week.

Mobile mechanics enjoy flexible hours and higher pay than at a shop or dealership. Founded in 2012, YourMechanic has secured $32 million in funding. YourMechanic won TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco in 2012 and holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, YourMechanic is funded by SoftBank Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, Ashton Kutcher, Data Point Capital, and others.