The number of passenger electric vehicles in the state is just a few hundred shy of reaching a milestone, according to the latest statistics from the state’s monthly energy trends report.

In July, the number of passenger EVs in the state was at 9,699, up 2,202 or 29.4% from the same month a year ago, and 249 more, or up 2.6% from June 2019. The July total is just 301 shy of reaching 10,000.

The EVs still represent less than 1% of the more than one million registered passenger vehicles in the state, which in July was tallied at 1,080,151. The number of passenger vehicles in July grew by 10,678 from the same month last year.

In contrast, the number of passenger gasoline vehicles in the state in July grew to 1,036,070, representing 95.9% of total passenger vehicles. It represents an increase of 8,851 vehicles (0.9%) from the same period last year and an increase of 1,292 vehicles (0.1%) from June 2019.

The number of passenger hybrid vehicles in the state in July was 25,031, accounting for 2.3% of the total passenger vehicles. It represents an increase of 0.1% from the same month last year but a decrease of 0.2% from June 2019.

In an effort to ease the process of buying an EV, the Blue Planet Foundation and Sustainable Transportation Coalition of Hawaii recently launched HawaiiEVexperts.org, with the intention of connecting interested car buyers with local EV experts at various dealerships on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island.

In July, the regular gasoline price in Hawaii averaged $3.65 per gallon, which was 89.6 cents per gallon (32.5%) higher than the national average for the same month. Hawaii’s regular gasoline price in July 2019 was a decrease of 11.3 cents per gallon (3.0%) from the same month last year, but an increase of 0.7 cents per gallon (0.2%) from June 2019.

The state monthly energy trends report is produced by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s Research & Economic Analysis Division.