Legacy automakers across the world have been aiming to substantially expand their electric vehicle production and deliveries for many years now. However, they continue to lag behind the current industry leader Tesla.
For context, the Musk-led automaker sold approximately 300,000 more EVs than its closest rivals Hyundai and General Motors in the first half of 2023, Motor Intelligence indicated (via CNBC). That figure represents a notable increase from just a 225,000-unit gap in the same period last year.
In addition, the vehicle data company disclosed that the American EV giant hit approximately 336,892 sales to US retail and fleet buyers in H1 2023. Notably, that figure reflects a 30% year-on-year growth.
On the other hand, South Korea’s Hyundai (including Kia) enjoyed EV sales growth of about 11% YoY to 38,457 units in the first six months of 2023. This figure ultimately placed the automaker in the second spot, followed by another American brand General Motors.
GM dropped to the third spot in the first half of the year from being the second placer in Q1 2023. Nonetheless, it grew its electric car and truck sales by more than fourfold to 36,322 units through June compared to its 2022 records.
Meanwhile, German legacy automaker Volkswagen enjoyed a twofold growth in EV sales to 26,538 units during that period.
Ford, originally America’s second-largest automaker, is now in fifth in terms of EV sales. It only sold 25,709 units from January to June, up 12% YoY.
“Our EV sales continue to grow. Improved Mustang Mach-E inventory flow began to hit at the end of Q2 following the retooling of our plant earlier this year, which helped Mustang Mach-E sales climb 110% in June.”
Andrew Frick, Ford’s VP of sales, distribution, and trucks, stated in a recent sales release
Below is the table for top-selling EV brands in the US in the first half of the year:
| Brand | Jan-June 2023 Sales | Jan-June 2022 Sales | YoY % Change |
| Tesla | 336,892 | 259,790 | 30% |
| Hyundai-Kia | 38,457 | 34,518 | 11% |
| General Motors | 36,322 | 7,820 | 365% |
| Volkswagen Group | 26,538 | 12,424 | 114% |
| Ford | 25,709 | 22,979 | 12% |
Tesla EV sales – H1 2023
Tesla’s production ramp-up at the expanded Texas factory significantly propelled the automaker’s H1 2023 sales to record a YoY 30% growth.
However, it must also be noted that the EV giant’s market share of US EV sales declined by almost 10 10 percentage points from the prior year to account for 60% of all locally marketed EVs, Motor Intelligence revealed.
This notable market share decline can be partly due to the growing competition propelling overall market growth. In fact, US EV sales grew about a whopping 50% in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2022.
Tesla’s dominance in the US market forces legacy and startup automakers to increase their EV production to remain competitive. However, their production and sales remain mediocre compared to the EV giant.
For context, Tesla’s global EV deliveries surpassed 889,000 units in H1 2023, including 466,140 vehicle units in Q2 2023. With these substantial figures, Tesla is undoubtedly on track to hit its target of producing at least 1.8 million EVs this year.
In that sense, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the Giga Texas would be the largest-volume production EV factory in the country once fully operational. Moreover, he also noted last year that the company expects the plant to build 500,000 units per year by the end of this year.
Hyundai surpasses GM in EV sales
Hyundai’s EV offerings for the US market do not qualify for federal tax credits of up to $7,500 unless leased. That said, its advancement to the second spot is undoubtedly remarkable.
The South Korean automaker took advantage of the “leasing loophole” to stay competitive in the US despite its disadvantaged position caused by the Inflation Reduction Act that aims to encourage domestic EV production. Hyundai grew the leasing of its EVs from about 2% at the start of the year and now surpassed 30%, as per Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker
“It’s not an even playing field, and we’re certainly not happy about it. But those are the deck of cards that have been dealt and we’re trying to play that deck as best as we can.”
America CEO Randy Parker
In contrast, GM’s EV sales declined, particularly its new models using its “Ultium” battery technologies. Moreover, the automaker has failed to immediately increase the production of its latest EVs, including the GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq.
That said, GM’s H1 2023 EV sales were significantly from the Chevrolet Bolt model, which is set to phase out by late 2023.
GM CEO Mary Barra also restated last week the company’s issue with local battery production that takes longer than planned, affecting the production of its newer EV models.
The GM CEO also disclosed the company’s goal of matching Tesla’s EV sales by mid-decade. To achieve that, GM will launch more mainstream EVs by late 2023, including the Chevrolet Silverado, Blazer, and Equinox. Apart from that, it will develop and market a new electric delivery van and a $300,000-plus revamped Cadillac EV -the Celestiq in 2023.
GM aims to increase its EV production to 150,000 units for the US market this year.
See Also:
- US: New vehicle sales to soar 15.6% in May
- 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 on track to beat VW Group, BMW, and Mercedes in Q1 2023 sales
- Ford more than doubled its BEV sales in the US in January 2023
Electric vehicle sales in the US have been enjoying an upward trend owing to the new model launches in the past quarters, and there are still more to come.
It would be interesting to see how Tesla would be able to defend its dominance in its home market once newer models arrive from its closest rivals. Hopefully, GM’s impending EV models will aid its sales to recover in the following quarters.
