More than 300,000 new electric vehicles were sold in the United States in the third quarter, representing a notable 49.8% increase from Q3 2022 meaning EVs accounted for 7.9% of total industry sales.
Data released by Kelley Blue Book reveals that 313,086 new EVs were sold across the country last quarter. This is up from the 298,039 that were sold in Q2 and the EV share of 7.9% of the market is also up from the 7.2% in Q2.
Tesla continues to dominate the EV market but its share of the market has started to fall. In Q1, no less than 62% of all new EVs sold in the U.S. were from Tesla. In Q3, that figure had slipped to 50%, the lowest level on record. While Cox Automotive notes that the Cybertruck could reverse this trend, there’s no doubt that Tesla is facing stiff competition.
Read: EVs Account For 7.2% Of New Car Sales In The U.S. Between January And July
The data reveals that many car manufacturers reported significant increases in EV sales in Q3 compared to the year prior. Volvo, Nissan, Mercedes, and Hyundai all saw increases of over 200% thanks primarily to the introduction of new and enticing models. BMW also reported sales more than triple what they were a year ago while Audi posted an EV sales gain of 94%.
With the exception of brands like Tesla, Fisker, Rivian, and VinFast which sell nothing but EVs, BMW had the highest proportion of its sales made up by EVs of any mainstream automaker, sitting at 15.6%. This puts it above Audi at 12.7%, Volvo at 12.6%, VW at 12.2%, and Mercedes-Benz at 12%.
Cox Automotive says that the number of available EVs on the U.S. market will double by 2027 and as such, sales are expected to continue to rise.
