A quick look around the economy could be a discouraging experience right about now. Prices on cars, trucks, and SUVs continue to rise while inventory levels are low. One bright spot has appeared though and that’s in the way electric vehicles continue to gain big ground in the market.
New data shows that the EV segment grew 66.4 percent during the second quarter, from 118,235 units in Q2 2021, to 196,788 in Q2 2022. The increase is even bigger for the first half of the year, as sales of EVs grew from 216,927 units in H1 2021 to 370,726 in H1 2022, up 75.7 percent.
The study from Cox Automotive details the growth in a number of ways but let’s focus on that total growth number first. No other segment came anywhere near it. In fact, as a whole, the new-vehicle sales market diminished 20 percent compared to the same period in 2021.
Even hybrids and plug-in hybrids lost ground. Year over year, that segment dropped 10.2 percent. Some of that dip is the result of production slowdowns but it seems to indicate that with fuel prices on the rise, some consumers would prefer to ditch gas altogether in favor of all-electric if possible. Interestingly enough, the top-selling PHEV during the quarter was the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, although Toyota and its luxury brand, Lexus, accounted for roughly 55 percent of all hybrids sold in the first half of 2022.
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The huge jump in sales for electric vehicles has been largely bolstered by new models. Last year, there were 19 different EVs on sale in America. This year, that number has jumped up to 33 and those new models were responsible for almost 30,000 new sales during the second quarter. It’s also helpful that the Chevrolet Bolt is finally back on sale after a long pause that started late last year.
In fact, the total number of EV sales, 196,788, is an all-time new record and not very far behind the total of hybrid sales (245,204) over the same time span. It wouldn’t surprise us if it overtakes the hybrid segment by the end of the year.
Finally, EV sales numbers become even more impressive once you consider that they’re far from cheap. The average price for an EV in June was $66,000. That’s considerably higher than the overall market average and, as Cox points out, it’s much more closely aligned with luxury vehicle pricing.
Tesla Leads The Way (And The Sales Chart)
As for the best sellers in Q2 2022, the most popular EV was the Tesla Model Y with 59,822, followed by another Tesla, the Model 3 at 54,620 units. In third place but with a significant difference from the two Teslas, we find Ford’s Mustang Mach-E at 10,941 deliveries followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5 with 7,448 and the Kia EV6 at 7,287 units.