In the first quarter of 2022, a single EV model, now manufactured in two American facilities, accounted for roughly one out of every three new electric cars registered in the United States. That would be the one and only Tesla Model Y, once again proving that Elon Musk was right to predict the Model Y would be Tesla's most successful model to date.
Despite long-term challenges from other manufacturers, they all appear to be marginal participants five years after Tesla launched its mass-market Model Y and Model 3. The Tesla Models 3 and Y combined, accounted for 62.8% of new EV registrations in the quarter, while Tesla's four models accounted for 71.7% of the EV market.
The data comes from Experian Automotive's latest quarterly roundup, which revealed state registration data last week, giving us a clearer picture than sales data—especially without the periodic detailed data from Tesla that other manufacturers share.
According to Experian, electric vehicles surpassed 5% of new vehicle registrations in the United States in the first quarter, with California leading the way.
Tesla increased their share of the total U.S. automobile market from 1.4 percent to 3.3 percent between Q1 2020 and Q1 2022. Despite only four such models, Tesla sold almost as many "electrified" automobiles as Toyota in the quarter, compared to all 11 Toyota plug-in hybrid, hybrid, and electric options.
Kia and Hyundai together account for about 10% of the US EV market, whereas Ford accounts for less than 5%. Kia captured 5.3% of the EV market in Q1, despite the fact that the first of its EV6 electric SUVs did not arrive until late January.
Will such brands pose a greater threat in Q2 with registration data that we can compare in this way with Tesla behind a couple of months? It remains to be seen, especially with Giga Texas increasing up output.
In terms of state, California accounted for approximately 38 percent of all national new-vehicle EV registrations from January to March. In California alone, approximately 15% of new car registrations in Q1 were totally electric, with 11.5% being hybrids.
When the remaining states were added together, roughly 3.2 percent were entirely electric and 6.6 percent were hybrids. However, it is worth noting that EVs increased from 2.2% in Q1 2020 to more than 5.1% in Q1 2022.
In practice, this implies that just one out of every twenty new automobiles sold in the United States is totally electric. And, with the average car age approaching 12 years, those who believe the electric revolution has already begun may rest assured that there is still plenty of potential for growth and, perhaps, friends and family to provide a hand.
From the rumored reservation numbers of the Tesla Cybertruck, I predict that the Cybertruck sales will quickly eclipse that of the Tesla Model 3 and Y combined. The demand and anticipation for the Cybertruck has been record breaking and incomprehensible to date, with multiple successful products being launched in anticipation of the Cybertruck's upcoming release. Products like the Cyberlander and the Cyberbackpack are just a few.
