Californians say 200 miles of range, without too much extra cost, is what they want in an EV

Here's another study from the "unsurprising" files. Californians say electric vehicles that offer a 200-mile single-charge range at a comparable price to gas-powered vehicles will be what it takes to potentially trigger a substantial jump in EV sales from their current monthly records. Almost two-thirds of those polled in an August survey said they'd seriously consider buying or leasing an EV with those parameters, CALinnovates says, citing a survey of more than 800 Californians by Vrge Analytics. CALinnovates calls itself "a non-partisan coalition of tech companies, founders, funders and non-profits determined to make the new economy a reality," so take that for what it's worth.

Almost half of those surveyed said they may buy or lease an EV within the next decade regardless of range or price, while almost 80 percent of those polled said the state of California needs to do more to spur development and adoption of EVs. Sixty percent supported increasing state tax credits for EV buyers, while more than 50 percent say Big Oil is standing in the way of green-vehicle progress. You can read more about the details from CALinnovates here.

The results are relevant to green-vehicle advocates because California has long been on the leading edge of US electric-vehicle adoption, not to mention being the home base for EV maker Tesla Motors. California's leadership position isn't going to change anytime soon, as General Motors confirmed earlier this month that the first Chevrolet Bolt EVs will go to dealers in California and Oregon later this year.

Additionally, the Golden State has by far the most registered vehicles in a country that has set monthly records for plug-in vehicle sales for each of the past four months, according to the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Through September, Americans have purchased almost 111,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids, a 38-percent surge from a year earlier.