Californians Now Buy A Plug-In Electric Car For Every 2 Hybrids

The difference between electric cars and "electrified" cars has tripped up numerous reporters, carmakers, and analysts over the years.

Electric cars plug into the wall and power their wheels, partly or fully, with an electric motor running on energy from a battery pack.

"Electrified cars," on the other hand, include not only electric cars but any vehicle that has an electric motor providing any torque in its powertrain--which is to say, hybrids as well.

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We sat up and opened our eyes when we saw a headline on a recent article on Electric Vehicle News saying that almost 10 percent of California's sales were now electric vehicles .

They're not; the headline should have said "electrified cars," because the numbers turned out to include battery-electric vehicles (1.5 percent), plug-in hybrids (1.7 percent) ... and conventional hybrids (6.4 percent).

Still, the data is interesting.

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It points out that in the state that has by far the largest impact on green cars, Californian car buyers are now purchasing one car with a plug for every two hybrids.