Arkansas ranks near bottom in electric vehicle infrastructure, high in interest

FILE – A Chevrolet Volt hybrid car is seen charging at a ChargePoint charging station at a parking garage in Los Angeles, Oct. 17, 2018. Sixteen states across the country that have tied their vehicle emission standards to California’s now face weighty decisions on whether to follow that state’s strictest-in-the nation new rules and require that all new cars, pickups and SUVs be electric or hydrogen powered by 2035. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

by: Alex Kienlen

Posted: Oct 10, 2022 / 02:49 PM CDT

Updated: Oct 10, 2022 / 02:50 PM CDT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A recent study shows Arkansas ranks poorly for infrastructure supporting electric vehicles yet ranks high in its interest in EVs.

A study released by QuoteWizard has Arkansas as number 45 of the 50 states for electric vehicle infrastructure. The state has five charging stations for every 10,000 vehicles, which was one of the factors leading to this ranking.

A second factor in the ranking was Arkansas’s 0.27% electric vehicle adoption rate. This low number comes despite Arkansas ranking 14 of the 50 states for its interest in electric vehicles.

Arkansas has seen a 60% increase in EV interest in the past year, higher than the national 48% increase.

West Virginia has seen the highest growth in interest in electric cars at a 140% increase over the past year. New Mexico is at the bottom of the list with a 12% interest rate.

Data for the study comes from the United States Department of Energy on electric vehicles and infrastructure, along with Google analytics data.