Electric vehicle pioneer Tesla is apparently at risk of losing a significant portion of its market share in California as its strong competitors roll in, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla’s market share
Tesla’s share in the Californian electric vehicle market reportedly declined in 2023 compared to the prior year.
As per the California New Car Dealers Association’s recent report, the Musk-led company contributed 60.5% of the state’s battery-electric vehicle market last year. It represented a notable decline from 71% in 2022.
Tesla registered a total of 230,588 new EVs in 2023, indicating a 24.6% growth from 185,090 units in 2022.
Rivals report solid sales growth
Although Tesla remains the top-selling automotive brand in California in both electric and non-electric segments, its rival Rivian reported the highest growth in new vehicle registrations.
Rivian’s total registrations reached 10,297 units in 2023, indicating a whopping 142.7% year-on-year increase.
Apart from Rivian, German brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW, among others, also enjoyed higher YoY registration growth. As a result, Tesla’s market share continues to decline from its 71% record in 2022.
Tesla Model Y leads
Tesla’s popular electric crossover Model Y continues to dominate the automotive market in California. According to recent data, the Tesla Model Y advanced as the top-selling vehicle in the state’s light truck segment with 132,636 new registrations.
The Tesla Model Y surpassed the once unbeatable models Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V in California, even if they were combined. The Tesla crossover’s dominance is indeed impressive, considering that the Toyota and Honda models are way cheaper. For context, the Tesla Model Y has a base price of $43,990.
Notably, Rivian R1S is also among the top 10 most popular battery-electric vehicles in California with 6,665 new registrations.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that the company has yet to solve the affordability issue in its electric vehicle models.
“People are really stretching their wallets to be able to afford a Tesla. It’s quite a difficult thing for them to do, and remarkable that it’s the best-selling car in unit volume, despite being much more expensive than other high-volume cars.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the Q4 2023 Earnings Call on Wednesday
California continues to report progress in its electric vehicle uptake, partly due to Tesla’s market presence. According to Benzinga, the BEV market surged to 21.4% in 2023 from just 16.4% in 2022. In effect, the state’s traditional internal combustion engine-powered car registrations declined to 63.9% last year.
