What’s Causing the Spike in Illinois EV Sales?

According to data from the U.S. Department of Energy, Illinois has over 4,300 publicly available EV charging ports. It’s an impressive figure nationally, but one that’s still dwarfed by states like New York, Florida, Texas and California, which each have five figures’ worth of public charging ports. However, the Prairie State is surging ahead in one metric: the growth in the percentage of car buyers choosing electric.

Citing data from Crain’s Chicago Business, Electrek’s Jo Borrás reports that first-quarter EV registrations in Illinois grew at a rate significantly higher than the national average. Crain’s compared EV sales data in the state from the first quarters of 2024 and 2025 and found that the figure had risen by more than 50% year over year, to 9,821 EVs registered January through March of this year.

Electrek cites two significant factors in contributing to this growth, and they’re both incentives. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency offered $4,000 rebates on electric vehicles and $1,500 rebates on electric motorcycles. Utility company ComEd also announced a number of incentives to make installing electric vehicle chargers less expensive for homeowners and businesses.

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The Illinois EPA’s website currently shows an update suggesting that its incentives may have reached the limit for the year. “The current number of EV Rebate Program applications that have been received by the Illinois EPA has surpassed the amount of available Fiscal Year 2025 funding appropriated by the General Assembly,” the agency stated — though it also notes that low-income applicants will still be prioritized.

As Borrás pointed out, one of the biggest takeaways here is that incentives can drive acceptance of EVs. Though the timing of these purchases also suggests that at least some Illinois residents wanted to buy EVs before the onset of tariffs and before federal incentives could be taken away.