Where I live, in Berkeley, CA, it can seem like every other car is either a Tesla Model 3 or Y. Or a Hyundai IONIQ 5 SUV. Or some other brand of EV. And that's not including the hybrids, the Toyota Priuses and others, that appear ubiquitous along the Bay. Recently my wife and I were keen on getting a 2023 Prius, which is much more sleek and futuristic-looking than previous models, until our local dealer told us the interest is so high, we'd have to wait months to maybe get a chance to snag one. (We're now settling on a 2017 Prius Prime.) Research reflects this growing interest. "A total of 14 percent of all new cars sold were electric in 2022, up from around 9 percent in 2021 and less than 5 percent in 2020," according to a report on global car sales from the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization based in Paris. What's getting consumers so amped about electric vehicles?