Q: I hear Lexington is a statewide leader in electric cars. How do we compare to other cities and towns in the state?

A: Until last month, we had more electric cars than any other city or town in the Commonwealth. More than much larger cities like Boston, Cambridge, and Arlington. This month Newton has taken the lead, but Lexington is still number 2, followed by Boston and Cambridge. Per capita, we are number 3 in the state after Weston and Carlisle, and we have almost double the number of electric vehicles per capita when compared to Newton.

Q: What are the latest trends in electric cars sales?

A: The story of the year is the amazing number of Tesla Model 3s that have been delivered. Nationwide the Model 3 will end the year with roughly 5 times more electric cars shipped than the next closest competitors, the Toyota Prius Prime, and the Tesla Model S. Electric car sales are up 77% compared to 2017 and almost all of that growth came from the Tesla Model 3.

It isn’t just electric cars that the Model 3 is eclipsing. In August, the Model 3 became the best selling car in the country on a revenue basis, beating the Camry, Accord, Civic, and Corolla with a billion dollar month! And in September, the Model 3 outsold every luxury car sold by Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura.

The Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada is now the largest producer of automotive batteries in the world, producing more batteries than all the other car manufacturers combined. When completed, the Gigafactory will be the largest building in the world and will run entirely on solar power. Tesla is currently building 2 more Gigafactories in Europe and China.

Q: What other makes and models of electric cars are driving in Lexington?  

A: Lexington residents are driving 27 different models of electric cars from 17 different manufacturers. Most manufacturers have introduced a plugin electric car, but only a few are getting serious traction. 79% of all electric cars in Lexington were produced by Tesla, Chevy, Toyota, and Nissan. The Model 3 is the second most popular electric car in Lexington after the Model S which has been shipping for 5 years longer than the Model 3. The next most popular cars are the Chevy Volt, Chevy Bolt, Prius Prime, Model X and the Nissan Leaf.

But there is an electric car for everyone, including the very nice Chrysler Pacifica minivan, BMW 5 series, Mitsubishi Outlander, SMART car, and yes, if you look fast enough, you can even spot a Porsche Panamera 4E with electric vehicle plates in town.