Don't bother applying for the new California HOV red stickers, the only kind valid after Jan 2019. I already tried.
They are only going to new EV owners. : (
Yep, we early adopters are getting screwed, despite driving pure BEVs. This business of new wimpy (minimal range) PHEVs getting stickers sucks. That said, I think that HOV stickers should return to the original concept: multiple people in the car.