SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Over 1.5 million zero-emissions vehicles have been sold in California, Gov. Newsom announced Friday. That’s two years ahead of what the state had been targeting as it works toward its goal of 100% all-electric new passenger vehicle sales by 2035.

“No other state in the nation is doing as much as we are to accelerate our electric and zero emissions future,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement. “California is setting the bar for climate action — and we’re achieving our goals years ahead of schedule thanks to unprecedented investments secured in partnership with the Legislature.”

In 2012, former Gov. Jerry Brown set a goal of 1.5 million zero-emissions vehicle sales by 2025.

So far this year, 21.2% of all new cars sold in California have been zero emissions, according to the California Energy Commission — up from 18.8% in 2022. Forty percent of all zero-emissions vehicles are sold in California, according to the EV advocacy consortium, Veloz.

The California market has been incentivized with $2 billion in consumer rebates issued through its Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, which provides $1,000 to $7,500 to Californians who buy or lease a new EV, and Clean Cars 4 All, which provides up to $9,500 to low-income drivers to scrap a polluting car and replace it with a lower-emissions model.

Gov. Newsom’s announcement comes one week after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed new federal emissions regulations for passenger vehicles that effectively require 60% of new passenger vehicle sales to be zero emissions by 2032.

Last year, 7% of new passenger vehicle sales nationally were electric, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.