Electric car sales surged in California last year, primarily thanks to the Tesla Model 3, a new report says.

The state saw 92,447 new all-electric cars registered in 2018, an 81 percent rise from the year before, according to figures released Monday by the California New Car Dealers Association.

Tesla’s Model 3 — the cheapest car in its line of electric vehicles — was the driving force, accounting for about 51,300 new registrations in California. That’s more than the total number of new electric car registrations in 2017, the report said.

Model 3 registrations topped the list of all green car sales, with the Toyota Prius hybrid coming in second at nearly 19,400 registrations and the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid in third place at 13,415 registrations.

Not all types of green cars sold well in 2018, the report showed. Total hybrid sales fell 0.5 percent from 2017, the dealers’ association said, though registrations increased 39.5 percent in the plug-in hybrid category.

Simon Mui, a senior scientist in the Natural Resources Defense Council’s climate and clean energy program, said the data reflect the growing popularity of the plug-in versions of hybrid cars. Regarding the standard Toyota Prius, “the novelty has worn off” for many customers, Mui said.

“Folks are opting for the opportunity to plug in ... while also getting access to HOV lanes and other state incentives,” he said.

Despite the huge growth seen in electric car registrations, gas-powered cars still represented more than 85 percent of all new California vehicles registered last year, according to the report.

Ted Nicholas, chairperson of the new-car dealers association, said in a statement that his group is “pleased to see that consumers are increasingly choosing the option of zero emission vehicles.”

“That said, California has a long way to go to overcome challenges, support the needs of zero emission vehicles, and get consumer buy-in for this advanced technology,” he said.

Transportation is key to helping California fulfill its climate change goals, as the sector accounts for nearly 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Former Gov. Jerry Brown set a goal of getting 5 million electric cars on the road by 2030, and Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, has tried to push the state to go even further.

Ting recently introduced a bill that would have the state’s Air Resources Board develop a “comprehensive strategy” to make all new-car sales emission-free by 2040. He said the clean-car sales figures are “trending the right way” and predicted that progress will move even faster if the auto industry can make electric SUVs and trucks an attractive option for drivers.

“We’ve set these very aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals,” Ting said. “We can’t meet them if we don’t move more aggressively toward clean cars.”

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris