Hard to believe 2019 is already over three weeks old at this point, but here we are. Surveying the news and trends for the upcoming year (such as the great content of 2019 Trends that have been submitted to Energy Central's special call for such insights), I've noted a lot of news in the electric vehicle (EV) space. EVs, of course, have been big news and much talked about in the past few years, so them being the focus early in 2019 isn't a big departure. But some of the news released I've caught wind of show that the trend might be really ramping up now.

To share a few pieces of news that leads to this conclusion:

Ford has announced an electric version to come of their highly popular and quintessentially American Ford F-150 truck

Another American automaker, GM, has announced they are moving away from hybrids to focus on all-electric cars

One of the first acts of Colorado's newly inaugurated Governor was to push EVs in the state

Countering one talking point that downplays EVs that they are just shifting emissions from transportation sector to the power grid, a Bloomberg study concludes that EVs are now cleaner than gasoline-powered cars even when they are powered by a coal-heavy energy mix

Studying consumer mindset shows there's much opportunity to push EVs even further, as the economics for EVs come out much better than the average U.S. consumer thinks or estimates

It seems like perhaps 2019 could represent an inflection point where electric cars went from niche to the mainstream. Given that cars have something like an 8 year turnover, that means the next decade will predictably be huge for market penetration as these companies make more affordable and robust options.

Is this the year you see EVs and EV chargers playing a bigger role? Have you purchased one? Will you purchase one next? Are utilities prepared for the increased load demand?