California added more than 99,000 licensed drivers in 2011 but the state still saw a decline in gasoline consumption compared to the year before.

California’s gasoline consumption dropped during all four calendar quarters in 2011, including a 1.4% drop during the fourth quarter to 3.63 million gallons. Also in 2011, the state added 99,466 licensed drivers, bringing the total to 23,799,513, the Department of Motor Vehicles said.

The consumption figures come from the state’s Board of Equalization, which tracks the amount of gasoline sold in the state. The licensed driver information comes from the DMV. One reason for the drop was an increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles, but state officials were concerned about other factors.

“I’m very concerned about the high price of gasoline that California consumers are having to pay at the pump,” said Jerome E. Horton, chairman of the Equalization Board. “It is a heavy burden for California families who are already struggling to find creative ways of stretching their hard-earned dollars.”


California gasoline prices jumped by 23% in 2011 compared to a year earlier, rising to an average of $3.86 a gallon. So far in 2012, the average has climbed considerably higher than $4 a gallon.

The good news is that California continues to be a national leader in the move to higher-mileage vehicles and electric vehicles.

Between 2004 and 2012, for example, the state DMV said that the number of electric vehicles registered in the state had climbed from 72,105 to 107,549. The growth in hybrid vehicles has been most impressive.

In 2004, there were 22,983 hybrid vehicles on the road in California, according to DMV statistics. By 2012, that number had increased to 489,530.


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