July appears to be the first month ever when new all-electric car registrations in the United States exceeded 100,000 units.
According to the registration data from Experian (via Automotive News), the total number of BEV registrations, during the first seven months of 2023, amounted to 655,986, which is about 67 percent more than a year ago and about 7.2 percent of the total market (up from 4.9 percent at the time in 2022).
Registration data lags behind sales/deliveries, by at least several weeks, but can be used as a proxy of sales, especially because not all sales numbers are publicly available (specifically on a monthly basis).
This, when compared to the previous report for the January-June period, allows us to calculate the number of new registrations in July, which amounted to 109,335. That’s a new all-time record.
It’s worth noting also that the rate of growth significantly accelerated in July to 96 percent year-over-year, compared to over 55,000 registrations in July 2022.
This symbolic six-digit result is important but at the same time is quite late compared to other markets. For reference, in Europe, sales are significantly higher (over 150,000 registrations in July), while China is out of range for anyone right now with roughly 450,000 units sold in July. Globally, the US represented probably around 15 percent of the total BEV sales (over 750,000 total).
If we take a look at the January-July results, Tesla‘s share decreased a bit to 59.5 percent, because the sales of non-Tesla BEVs increased much faster.
The Automotive News article says that Tesla noted 390,377 new registrations (50 percent more than a year ago). The non-Tesla BEV registrations (calculated as the difference between the total and Tesla) amounted to 217,043 (up about 98 percent year-over-year) and 39.7 percent share.
BEV registrations in January-July 2023:
- Tesla (59.5% BEVs): 390,377 (up 50%)
- Non-Tesla (40.5% BEVs): 265,609 (up 97%)
- Total: 655,986 (up 67%) and 7.2% market share (vs. 4.9% a year ago)
Both Tesla and non-Tesla registrations in July were a record high at, respectively, over 60,700 and over 48,500 units.
Brands
When it comes to BEV sales, Tesla remains an order of magnitude ahead of the next closest competitor (brand).
The next two brands are Chevrolet (39,647) and Ford (33,955), followed by Hyundai (28,198) and a few German brands, above 20,000.
BEV registrations (select brands) in January-July 2023:
- Tesla: 390,377 (up 50%)
- Chevrolet: 39,647
- Ford: 33,955 (up 22%)
- Hyundai: 28,198
- BMW: 23,116
- Mercedes-Benz: 21,160
- Volkswagen: 20,046
- Rivian: 18,359
- Kia: 17,073
- Audi: 12,311
- Nissan: 10,530
- Volvo: 8,796
- Polestar: 5,374
- Toyota: 4,342
Models
In terms of the best-selling models (most registered to be precise), the Tesla Model Y registrations more than doubled year-over-year, reaching 236,041 during the first seven months of the year.
The Tesla Model 3 is not growing so fast, while the Model S and Model X are down year-over-year.
One of the most important things is the strong position of the Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV (almost 40,000 sold), a few months before it will be discontinued. The Ford F-150 Lightning soon might get into the top five, while the first 25 Chevrolet Silverado EVs emerged in the stats.
BEV registrations in the US (select models) – January-July 2023:
- Tesla Model Y – 236,041 (“more than doubled”)
- Tesla Model 3 – 131,381 (up 21%)
- Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV: 39,622
- Volkswagen ID.4: 20,046
- Tesla Model X: 14,462 (down 14%)
- Ford F-150 Lightning: 11,883 (“rose nearly fivefold”)
- Tesla Model S: 8,493 (down 51%)
- Rivian R1T: 7,611
- Chevrolet Silverado EV: 25 (first units)