CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Transportation is slowly transforming across North Carolina.
"Our most recent numbers came out and shows North Carolina has doubled the amount of registered electric vehicles on the road since 2021," Conor Mulderrig, the climate change policy advisor with the office of Gov. Roy Cooper, said.
The number of electric vehicles registered in North Carolina has grown more than 50%, totaling more than 70,000 electric vehicles on the road.
Cooper's transition to a clean transportation future sets a goal of more than 1.25 million electric vehicles over the next seven years. If drivers adopted EVs at a steady pace, the state would need to add more than 178,000 EVs each year.
Mulderrig said the goal is ambitious, but the recent growth shows its not impossible.
"It's not really a question of whether we think the goal is attainable, it's making sure the state's ready for it when we get there," Mulderrig said.
In Charlotte, electric vehicle registrations have also more than doubled in comparison to 2021.
State leaders said they're working ahead of the growth and are building out more charging infrastructure.
"Folks just need to look in their neighborhoods and you'll see chargers popping up," Mulderrig said.
He said they're not only working to build out EV charging infrastructure within the city, but they're also building along major highway corridors.
"This will be accessible for those traveling not just within the state limits, but also for those traveling across the state," Mulderrig said.
He said there’s also lots of funding opportunities underway from the Biden Administration and they’re hoping to secure every dollar to protect health for generations to come.
"I think the results are gonna speak for themselves," Mulderrig said.
The city of Charlotte is also working toward making 100% of their city vehicles electric by 2030, right now nearly 3% are electric.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.