Oregon Households Share Opinions on Zero-Emission Vehicles in Latest Oregon Department of Energy Report

In a recent survey of Oregon households conducted for the Oregon Department of Energy's 2025 Biennial Zero-Emission Vehicle Report, 17 percent of households said they personally own or have owned a zero-emission vehicle, trending above a 2024 national survey result of 7 percent.

The number of zero-emission vehicles, which includes battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, on Oregon roads grows each year. About one third of surveyed Oregon households would consider buying electric for their next family vehicle, and about two-thirds of multi-family housing respondents indicated that access to home charging would motivate them to purchase a zero-emission vehicle.

ODOE's survey also found Oregonians making more than $50,000 annually were more than three times as likely to own a ZEV than those making less than $50,000, and those living in suburban or urban areas were six times more likely than those in rural areas.

"For the latest edition of our Biennial Zero-Emission Vehicle Report, we were able to hear directly from Oregonians on their awareness level and opinions on electric vehicles," said ODOE Director and EV owner Janine Benner. "Oregonians' insights, paired with research and additional data, will allow ODOE and our partner agencies to plan programs and charging infrastructure to support access to electric vehicles throughout the state."

This third edition of the Biennial Zero-Emission Vehicle Report, assigned to the agency by the Oregon Legislature in 2019, provides data-driven insights into the transition to zero-emission vehicles.

Oregon remains below the Senate Bill 1044 goal of 250,000 registered ZEVs by 2025, but existing policies and programs put the state on track to achieve the 2030 goal of zero-emission vehicles being at least 25 percent of all registered vehicles and at least half of new vehicles sold annually, and the 2035 goal of zero-emission vehicles making up at least 90 percent of new vehicles sales.

Zero-emission vehicles now make up 3.2 percent of Oregon's light-duty (passenger vehicle) fleet with 119,850 registered as of May 2025, including 84,636 battery electric and 35,214 plug-in hybrid vehicles - this is an increase of about 50,000 ZEVs since ODOE's last report in 2023.

Oregon's medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle (large pickup trucks, vans, box trucks, school and transit buses, and short and long-haul delivery trucks) registrations more than tripled from January to December in 2024, with 803 registered as of May 2025. Yet, they represented only slightly more than half a percent of all medium- and heavy-duty vehicle registrations in Oregon. Step vans, commonly used for local deliveries, make up about 75 percent of those registrations.

In this year's report, ODOE:

• Collaborated with the Oregon State University Survey Research Center to collect input from a random sample of Oregon households about their views on zero-emission vehicles.

• Analyzed charging infrastructure in Oregon and the impact of federal and state policies and programs.

• Explored the effects of lithium-ion batteries to power zero-emission vehicles, innovative design and materials substitutions, and recycling and reuse opportunities for batteries.

• Reviewed impacts on the electricity grid and existing utility programs to encourage charging at off-peak times.

The Oregon Department of Energy's report is available on the agency's website, and Oregonians can learn more about electric vehicles at GoElectric.Oregon.gov.