Well, it’s not because of its business-friendly climate, that’s for sure.
But even if regulation-happy California ranks 44th among the toughest states to do business, we rank No. 2 on the list that really matters. That’s right, the Golden State is second in total diesel drivers on the road, according to DieselForum.org. California trails only No. 1 Texas 893,553 to 650,252 in diesel car, SUV, truck and van drivers in California.
Eat your heart out No. 10 diesel driver and No. 1 business-friendly Georgia!
All kidding aside, the numbers have been pretty positive for the diesel market of late.
According to the Diesel Technology Forum analysis of the latest Vehicles in Operation (VIO) data compiled by IHS Automotive, the number of diesels in operation reached 7.4 million in 2014 – an increase of 360,121 over 2013.
The fastest growing states in terms of diesel truck growth during that time period are North Dakota (+ 8.60%) and South Carolina (+ 8.11%), so if you see us plastering our bumper stickers all over the trucks in those states you know why now.
If you’re interested in the most “diesel” state in terms of percentage, Wyoming (11.0%), Montana (8.3%) and Idaho (7.1%) take the cake with highest percentage of diesel vehicles.
Here’s the rest of the 2014 list of the Top 10 U.S. States in terms of total diesel drivers, courtesy DieselForum.org: