California

Will California start to see even more electric vehicles? Experts say sales are at ‘tipping point’

Published

2 years ago

January 24, 2023

Will California start to see even more electric vehicles? Experts say sales are at ‘tipping point’

Gross sales of electrical automobiles in California soared to a file excessive final 12 months, accounting for 18.8% of all new vehicles offered within the state and main some analysts to recommend exponential progress might lie forward.

Greater than 345,000 vehicles offered within the state had been absolutely or partially electrical fashions, a dramatic soar from about 145,000 vehicles two years in the past, or lower than 8% of the brand new automotive market, in line with information from the state Vitality Fee.

The dramatic improve has been attributed to a number of things, together with sky-high gasoline costs, extra number of electrical fashions, sturdy authorities subsidies for patrons and fewer shopper hesitancy.

California has lengthy dominated the electrical automotive market in america because of aggressive tailpipe rules designed to section out emissions which can be identified to hurt human well being and drive world local weather change by trapping warmth within the environment.

However different states are beginning to observe go well with. Nationwide, absolutely electrical fashions comprised a file 5.8% of recent vehicles offered final 12 months, in line with Cox Automotive, an business analysis group.

An evaluation launched final 12 months by Bloomberg concluded that 5% is the essential tipping level that seemingly signifies the beginning of mass adoption, primarily based on world gross sales information for international locations the place electrical vehicles are extra frequent.

Environmental advocates and business analysts cheered California’s new high-point for electrical car gross sales, although they cautioned that it’s a fraction of the shift wanted to fulfill the state’s local weather targets.

“We’re beginning to get to that tipping level the place we’re getting past the early adopters. 5, 10 years in the past, it was extra individuals who had been actively in search of out an electrical car,” stated David Reichmuth, a senior clear transportation engineer on the Union of Involved Scientists. “This can be a good begin.”

The state electrical car gross sales information for 2022 contains battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell passenger automobiles. Excluding plug-in hybrids, which run on a short-range battery and a fuel engine, about 16% of recent vehicles offered in California final 12 months had been absolutely electrical.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, one of many state’s most vocal electrical car champions, touted the gross sales file in a tweet, boasting, “California continues to steer the zero-emission car revolution.”

The variety of clear vehicles offered within the state is more likely to speed up because of stringent new emissions guidelines that air-quality regulators adopted final 12 months.

Underneath the brand new guidelines, which Newsom spearheaded through an government order, most new vehicles offered in California have to be zero-emission by 2035. The foundations embrace interim benchmarks: 35% of recent automobiles have to be absolutely electrical or plug-in hybrid by mannequin 12 months 2026, although credit bought from different automakers can be utilized to offset a large portion of these targets in earlier years.

That mandate ramps as much as 68% by 2030, and 94% by 2034. When the principles take full impact, the state will enable a couple of fifth of recent automobiles to be plug-in hybrids, which it characterizes as zero-emission.

Reichmuth stated this 12 months’s gross sales figures are seemingly simply the beginning of a fast transition. He stated many extra electrical automobiles seemingly might have been offered this 12 months if not for lengthy producer ready lists to obtain the preferred fashions, similar to for Ford’s F-150 Lightning or Tesla’s Mannequin X.

“With what we find out about local weather science, we actually can’t transfer quick sufficient,” Reichmuth stated.

Tesla remained, by far, the dominant participant available in the market, with 72.7% of the gross sales of absolutely electrical automobiles. Its market share dipped barely, nonetheless, down from 78.8% two years in the past, in line with Vitality Fee information.

On the similar time, analysts and advocates warn that California and different car markets within the U.S. face important hurdles in making a broader transition to electrical vehicles.

Many gaps in charging infrastructure stay, and the state has an extended approach to go to make sure that it might generate sufficient clear power — and retailer it for prolonged intervals of time — to energy a grid with tens of millions of electrical automobiles.

Furthermore, the everyday sticker worth for a car stays over $30,000 — about $8,000 costlier than a gas-powered economic system sedan, discouraging middle- and lower-income patrons.

To cope with these hurdles, Newsom and state legislators put aside a file $10 billion within the state’s funds to hurry up the transition, together with billions for purchaser subsidies and charging infrastructure. He has proposed to chop about $1.1 billion of that spending this 12 months because of a projected funds deficit.

Ron Cogan, writer of GreenCarJournal.com and an analyst who has tracked the business for over 30 years, stated that whereas final 12 months’s gross sales file is some extent for optimism, it’s unlikely to carry.

He stated excessive costs on the pump — the common per gallon worth of fuel in California peaked at $6.43 final summer season — seemingly motivated many customers to think about electrical automobiles and hybrids. He stated that curiosity might taper within the close to time period as costs stabilize.

“If historical past tells us something, it’s that there are spurts in curiosity in additional environmentally optimistic automobiles,” Cogan stated. “So, I believe we should always all type of maintain our breath and see if that continues as fuel costs drop.”

Dustin Gardiner (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle workers author. E mail: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner

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California

10 of 15 Southern California industries slow their hiring pace

Published

6 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Press Room

10 of 15 Southern California industries slow their hiring pace

Southern California’s bosses added 80,700 workers in the past year to a record 8.06 million jobs – but that hiring pace is roughly half of the pre-pandemic job market’s gains.

My trusty spreadsheet – filled with state job figures for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties – compared employment changes for the region and 15 industries in the year ended in October with the average yearly hiring pace before coronavirus upended the economy.

Yes, there have never been more Southern Californians employed. However, the recent hirings that created the all-time high staffing are far below the average job creation of 159,600 a year in 2015-19.

This is one of many signals of cooler business trends. It’s a chill significantly tied to the Federal Reserve’s attempts to slow what was once an overheated economy.

But Southern California bosses have another challenge – a shortage of workers. The region’s workforce, a measure of labor supply, is basically flat comparing 2024 to 2015-19. Fewer choices of workers have added difficulty for local businesses trying to meet their staffing needs.

Think of that when you learn that among the 15 Southern California business sectors tracked – hiring in 10 industries is below pre-pandemic years compared with five industries with improvements.

The downs

First, contemplate the 10 industries where the hiring pace has weakened, ranked by the size of the decline …

Professional-business services: 1.14 million workers in October – down 4,600 in a year vs. 24,100 annual gains in 2015-19. This net downturn of 28,700 jobs is unnerving because this white-collar work typically pays above-average salaries.

Construction: 378,700 workers – down 3,100 in a year vs. 16,200 annual gains in 2015-19. A building slowdown due to lofty mortgage rates created this 19,300 reversal.

Logistics-utilities: 820,800 workers – up 6,800 in a year vs. 25,800 annual gains in 2015-19. What’s at least a temporary oversupply of warehouses in the region may be behind this 19,000 slowdown.

Manufacturing: 558,400 workers – down 15,300 in a year vs. 4,100 annual cuts in 2015-19. This 11,200 drop is continued losses of local factory work tied to high cost of doing business in the region.

Fast-food restaurants: 359,400 workers – up 3,400 in a year vs. 12,400 annual gains in 2015-19. Weaker consumer spending and a hike in the industry’s minimum wage contribute to this 9,000 drop.

Hotels/entertainment/recreation: 268,300 workers – up 3,400 in a year vs. 9,600 annual gains in 2015-19. This 6,200 cooling reflects worker shortages.

Full-service eateries/food service: 339,100 workers – up 1,600 in a year vs. 6,600 annual gains in 2015-19. Inflation making shoppers pickier is part of this 5,000 cooling.

Information: 214,200 workers – down 100 in a year vs. 3,700 annual gains in 2015-19. Weakness in tech businesses and Hollywood productions created the 3,800 net downturn.

Personal services: 266,600 workers – up 500 in a year vs. 3,200 annual gains in 2015-19. Again, it is hard to find people to do this work. Thus, a 2,700 cooling.

Government: 1.03 million workers – up 11,600 in a year vs. 12,500 annual gains in 2015-19. This 900 dip is status quo.

The ups

Ponder the five industries where the hiring pace rose in the past year, ranked by the size of the gains …

Social assistance: 512,300 workers – up 28,200 in a year vs. 18,300 annual gains in 2015-19. The 9,900 addition comes as more folks need help at home for healthcare and child care.

Healthcare: 836,700 workers – up 30,100 in a year vs. 20,900 annual gains in 2015-19. The 9,200 growth parallels the region’s aging population and its need for medical services.

Retailing: 748,300 workers – up 8,300 in a year vs. 300 annual cuts in 2015-19. This somewhat surprising 8,600 improvement may be consumers tiring of online commerce and wanting to get out to shop.

Financial: 364,100 workers – up 4,400 in a year vs. 3,900 annual gains in 2015-19. The minor 500 improvement is a return to normalcy. Super-heated hiring came in the pandemic days thanks to a brief drop in mortgage rates to historic lows.

Private education: 215,700 workers – up 5,500 in a year vs. 5,100 annual gains in 2015-19. This 400 uptick reflects the growing interest in alternatives to public schooling.

Bottom line

While it’s rare for all industries to be growing at the same time – minus, say, just after an economic downturn – this 2024 edition of the winners vs. losers list raises an important issue.

It appears much of the past year’s job creation is coming from industries that historically pay meager wages. That’s an especially worrisome trend in high-cost Southern California.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

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California

California Lottery Powerball, Daily 3 Midday winning numbers for Nov. 27, 2024

Published

14 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Press Room

The California Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 27, 2024, results for each game:

Powerball

01-06-07-13-40, Powerball: 05, Power Play: 5

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily 3

Midday: 7-1-0

Evening: 4-9-6

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily Derby

1st:11 Money Bags-2nd:3 Hot Shot-3rd:8 Gorgeous George, Race Time: 1:47.44

Check Daily Derby payouts and previous drawings here.

Fantasy 5

03-10-12-29-33

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily 4

6-1-3-2

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

SuperLotto Plus

03-05-15-16-42, Mega Ball: 24

Check SuperLotto Plus payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Desert Sun producer. You can send feedback using this form.

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California

Democrat Derek Tran ousts Republican rival in key California House seat

Published

22 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Democrat Derek Tran ousts Republican rival in key California House seat

Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican Michelle Steel in a southern California House district Wednesday that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill.

Steel said in a statement: “Like all journeys, this one is ending for a new one to begin.” When she captured the seat in 2020, Steel joined Washington state Democrat Marilyn Strickland and California Republican Young Kim as the first Korean American women elected to Congress.

Tran, a lawyer and worker rights advocate and the son of Vietnamese refugees, declared victory earlier this week. He said his win “is a testament to the spirit and resilience of our community. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, I understand firsthand the journey and sacrifices many families in our district have made for a better life.”

The contest is one of the last to be decided this year, with Republicans now holding 220 seats in the House, with Democrats at 214. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in California’s 13th district, where Democrat Adam Gray was leading Republican John Duarte by a couple of hundred votes.

Steel held an early edge after election day, but late-counted ballots pushed Tran over the top.

Steel filed a statement of candidacy on Monday with federal regulators, which would allow her to continue raising funds. It wasn’t immediately clear if she planned to seek a return to Congress.

In the campaign, Tran warned of Republican threats to abortion rights. Steel opposes abortion with exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of the pregnant woman, while not going so far as to support a federal ban. Tran also warned that Donald Trump’s return to the White House would put democracy at risk.

On Capitol Hill, Steel has been outspoken in resisting tax increases and says she stands strongly with Israel in its war with Hamas. “As our greatest ally in the Middle East, the United States must always stand with Israel,” she said. She advocates for more police funding and has spotlighted her efforts on domestic violence and sexual abuse.

The largest demographic in the district, which is anchored in Orange county, south-east of Los Angeles, is Asian Americans, and it includes the nation’s biggest Vietnamese community. Democrats hold a four-point registration edge.

Incomplete returns showed that Steel was winning in Orange county, the bulk of the district. Tran’s winning margin came from a small slice of the district in Los Angeles county, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one.

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