Electric vehicle sales record high in Q1- led by Tesla

Electric vehicle sales in the US were record high in Q1 this year. The sales were led by Tesla and California. Where  Tesla took over 10.6% of the EV market in California. Furthermore, in California, the EV sales reached 81,292 units, which is 40% of the US plug-in sales.

Image credits- Forbes

Californians bought more than one-sixth of Teslas sold globally (an even bigger piece than last quarter). Tesla sold 78% of the 67,118 battery-electric vehicles bought in California in Q1. Nationally, Americans bought about 208,000 electric vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) in the first quarter of the year. California comprised 81,292 of those or about 40% of U.S. plug-in sales.

For California that’s up 37% (and about 15,000 vehicles higher) versus last year at this time. Veloz notes how in the Golden State that now adds up to more than a 16% market share for EVs, again including PHEVs. That’s essentially a doubling of the market share for plug-ins there since the same quarter of 2020. According to Veloz, which has been keeping a tally of EV sales going back to late 2010 and the arrival of the Nissan Leaf, that now adds up to a cumulative 2.64 million national sales and nearly 1.14 million cumulative California sales.

EV sales

The Model S was third, at 3,557, while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ford Mustang Mach-E were fourth and fifth, at 1,959 and 1,664 for the quarter in the state. The Toyota Prius Prime, Tesla Model X, Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Nissan Leaf, and Volvo XC90 Recharge rounded out the top ten plug-in sales in California.

Image credits- Electrek

The United States is trailing far behind Europe and China when it comes to electrifying its passenger car market. There are many factors at play, including weaker incentives and a preference for pickup trucks, which is a segment that is just now being electrified.

Veloz reported, “California’s EV market continues to grow! This was the state’s strongest quarter for EV sales to date. With 81,292 electric vehicles sold this quarter, EV sales are 29% higher than last quarter. Q1 of 2022 surpassed Q1 of 2021 numbers by over 20,000 vehicles.” Stronger incentives in the state often result in automakers launching new EV models in California first and giving local dealers bigger allocations of EV models. The increase in gas prices and a big Super Bowl EV ad push seem to have helped push deliveries to a record high last quarter. While this is a good sign for EV adoption in the United States, the market is still highly dependent on California buying electric vehicles.