New federal emission standards for cars are poised to spur electric vehicle production over the next 10 years. But if history is an indicator, densely populated cities like New York, where parking is limited and charging infrastructure is sparse, will need more to encourage the widespread adoption of electric cars.

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed its strictest emissions standards to date for cars, SUVs and other personal vehicles. If adopted by the EPA, the rules would require automakers to lower their vehicles’ carbon dioxide emissions for new fleets starting in 2027. The proposal aims to reduce these emissions by more than half by 2032.

The EPA’s bet is that steep pollution restrictions could be the catalyst to increase electric vehicle production to up to two-thirds of all new cars within 10 years. Yet environmental experts said NYC will have to get creative in order to build chargers and encourage residents to purchase electric vehicles while also making public transportation more environmentally friendly.

New York City is home to more than 2.24 million registered vehicles, but despite a pandemic-era boom, the latest figures from the Department of Motor Vehicles show that electric vehicles comprise just 1% of this total — or 25,075 cars. An analysis of the 200 most populous U.S. cities conducted by the International Council on Clean Transportation found that electric vehicle uptake was higher during 2020 in cities with more public chargers.

New York City ranked on lower end of the spectrum, with electric vehicles comprising about 2.5% of new purchases that year. New adoption in Los Angeles, by contrast, was closer to 10%. At the time, Los Angeles had around 1,100 public level 2 and fast chargers per 1 million residents — five times more than NYC.

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