Electric vehicles reported record-breaking sales of more than 300,000 units in the third quarter of 2023, up almost 50% year-on-year.
However, leading American electric automaker Tesla continues to lose share in its home market.
Q3 2023 and YTD EV sales in the US
Kelley Blue Book estimates that electric vehicle sales reached a total of 313,086 units in the third quarter, according to Cox Automotive’s report. It represents a notable 49.8% growth compared to the same period last year.
This year to date, total EV sales surpassed 873,000 units in the US. That said, Cox Automotive expects the industry to cross the 1 million target for the first time in November.
Tesla loses market share
Electric vehicles increased their market share from just 6.1% in 2022 and 7.2% in Q2 2023 to 7.9% in the latest quarter.
According to the report, the primary factors boosting the country’s EV sales to record growth in 13 consecutive quarters are as follows:
- Higher inventory levels
- More product availability
- Downward pricing pressure
Unsurprisingly, the American EV giant’s EV sales increased 19.5% YoY in Q3 2023 due to its significant price cuts. In effect, its sales even surpassed the overall growth rate of the industry of just 16.3%.
Despite this sales increase, Tesla’s market share continues to decline to its lowest record of 50% in Q3 2023 from 62% in the first quarter.
Hopefully, the arrival of the electric pickup Cybertruck may aid Tesla in regaining its market dominance. However, it may still struggle from strong competition brought on by Ford, Chevrolet, and Rivian’s models.
Brands performance – Q3 2023
Presented below are the electric vehicle sales per brand in the third quarter of the year, along with their YoY changes and market share:
Q3 2023 sales | Q3 2022 | YOY | Q3 Market Share | |
| Audi | 7,538 | 3,891 | 93.7% | 2.4% |
| BMW | 13,079 | 4,365 | 199.6% | 4.2% |
| BrightDrop | 35 | – | 0% | 0% |
| Cadillac | 3,018 | 36 | 0% | 1% |
| Chevrolet | 15,872 | 14,709 | 7.9% | 5.1% |
| Ford | 20,962 | 18,257 | 14.8% | 6.7% |
| Genesis | 1,802 | 888 | 102.9% | 0.6% |
| GMC | 1,167 | 411 | 183.9% | 0.4% |
| Fisker | 997 | – | 0% | 0.3% |
| Hyundai | 19,630 | 5,824 | 237.1% | 6.3% |
| Jaguar | 86 | 22 | 290.9% | 0% |
| Kia | 9,325 | 5,583 | 67% | 3% |
| Lexus | 1,394 | – | 0% | 0.4% |
| Lucid | 1,618 | 654 | 147.4% | 0.5% |
| Mazda | 34 | 8 | 325% | 0% |
| Mercedes | 10,423 | 2,717 | 283.6% | 3.3% |
| Mini | 516 | 1,105 | -53.3% | 0.2% |
| Nissan | 6,074 | 1,276 | 376% | 1.9% |
| Polestar | 3,710 | 2,852 | 30.1% | 1.2% |
| Porsche | 2,050 | 1,325 | 54.7% | 0.7% |
| Rivian | 15,564 | 6,884 | 126.1% | 5% |
| Subaru | 2,791 | – | 0% | 0.9% |
| Tesla | 156,621 | 131,024 | 19.5% | 50% |
| Toyota | 2,827 | – | 0% | 0.9% |
| VinFast | 1,159 | – | 0% | 0.4% |
| Volvo | 4,087 | 542 | 654.1% | 1.3% |
| Volkswagen | 10,707 | 6,657 | 60-.8% | 3.4% |
As you can observe, Tesla is still way ahead of all its other rivals, with a 50% market share. However, it is also natural for the brand to somehow experience a share decline, given that it pioneered the EV industry.
In effect, other automakers manage to snatch some market share. According to the report, Volvo, Nissan, Mercedes, and Hyundai are the notable brands to deliver YoY sales gain of more than 200% in Q3 2023.
See Also:
- US sales for Hyundai Ioniq 5 jumped 56% in January 2023
- US sales of the Kia EV6 hit a new low in November
- US: Tesla electric car sales outpaced 19 competitors combined in H1 2023
- US: Electric car sales surged 147% in Q2 2023 from Q2 2021
- Ford Mustang Mach-E’s US sales recover in August, trails behind Tesla Model Y
EV sales in the US were only above 250,000 units in 2020. Now, the industry expects to surpass the 1 million sales mark before this year ends.
Despite recording its lowest share of the market in Q3 2023, Tesla continues to dominate the US EV industry. The imminent arrival of the Cybertruck is also expected to further boost demand for the brand.
