ARKANSAS, USA — Over the last 30 days, the number of electric and hybrid cars has increased by roughly 500 vehicles in Arkansas.
"It’s a sector that’s unique, I think all of us…we’re continuing to see more and more of those charging stations across the state,” Said Scott Hardin
Scott Hardin with the Arkansas Department of Finance says the spike in gas prices are having an impact on the number of electric and hybrid cars being purchased.
Out of the 75 counties in Arkansas, Benton county ranks number one with 670 fully electric vehicles, Pulaski County in central Arkansas is right behind them with 640, and Washington County is third with 400 electric cars.
"And today because the numbers are increasing so steadily and now so quickly here in the last couple of months…I think it’s not as unique as it once was because we’re seeing so many of these on the road,” Said Hardin
Hardin says the downfall to fully electric cars -- they’re hard to find in many local dealerships….
“There are significant wait times because there is already a waitlist for people to get those cars. So, you’re hearing stories of people saying well it’ll be six months, or It will be a year before we get a car to you,” Hardin said.
Hybrids are becoming more popular because they’re cheaper than fully electric vehicles, and there are more of them available….
"Fully electrics I think average more than $50,000, so I can understand why the hybrid be a more accessible better option for Arkansans.”
According to Hardin, at the end of May, there were 2,997 fully electric vehicles registered and 27,441 hybrids… A month later, those numbers increased to 3,064 fully electric vehicles and 27,909 hybrids.
“People are looking at any creative solution to save money because very simply we’re not used to these gas prices.” Said Hardin
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.