All-electric car sales in the United States continued to increase slightly in May, with another six-digit number of registrations. However, Tesla did not contribute to the growth because its sales decreased year-over-year for the fourth consecutive month.
According to S&P Global Mobility's data via Automotive News, battery-electric cars noted 104,916 new registrations in May, 9.6% more than a year ago. Because the overall market was down by 0.7% year-over-year to nearly 1.4 million units, EV share increased to 7.5%, the highest level so far this year. A year ago, the EV share was 6.8%.
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EV Sales Expands Despite Challenges
During the first five months of the year, more than 470,000 new all-electric cars were registered in the U.S. About half of them were Teslas (almost 232,000), although Tesla was down 12% year over year, while the 30 other brands noted an increase by about a third.
We should note that registration data lags behind sales and deliveries by at least a few weeks, but it can be used as a proxy of sales, especially since not all sales numbers are publicly available every month.
According to the data, Tesla was responsible for 48,587 new registrations in May, down 15% year-over-year. Four consecutive months of decrease for Tesla is a big challenge for the EV market because of Tesla's huge share in the EV segment. Fortunately, sales of non-Tesla EVs more than offset Tesla's drop.
In May, non-Tesla all-electric car registrations were up by about 39% year over year to 56,329 units, which was higher than Tesla's overall figures.
BEV registrations in May 2024:
- Tesla (46.3% BEVs): 48,587 (down 15%)
- Non-Tesla (53.7% BEVs): 56,329 (up 39%)
- Total: 104,916 (up 9.6%) and 7.5% market share (vs. 6.8% a year ago)
All-Electric Car Registrations in the U.S. - May 2024
During the first five months of the year, the total number of new EV registrations amounted to 471,021, a few percent higher than a year ago. The market share improved to 7.2% (compared to 6.9% in 2023). For the first time in years, non-Tesla EV registrations outpaced Tesla, taking more than 50% of the EV segment.
BEV registrations in January-May 2024:
- Tesla (49.2% BEVs): 231,865 (down 12%)
- Non-Tesla (50.8% BEVs): 239,156 (up 35%)
- Total: 471,021 (up 5%) and 7.2% market share (vs. 6.9% a year ago)
Tesla remains the number one brand in the EV segment. However, some of the other brands are quickly expanding. According to the report, Kia's EV registrations increased by 146% year-over-year. Rivian and Nissan both grew by 87%, while Hyundai grew by 40%.
Top BEV brands (new registrations) in May 2024 (YOY change):
- Tesla: 48,587
- Ford: 7,024
- Kia: 6,868
- Hyundai: 6,027
- Rivian: 5,172
- BMW: 4,570
- Chevrolet: 3,783
- Cadillac: 2,928
- Nissan: 2,572
- Mercedes-Benz: 2,412
The biggest issue is that the EV sales were boosted through subsidized financing and lease deals. According to Motor Intelligence's data, in some cases, incentives exceeded $15,000.
Here are example incentives reported by Automotive News:
- Kia EV6: $16,812
- Kia EV9: $18,078
- Cadillac Lyriq: $17,732
- Tesla Model Y: $5,570
- Rivian R1T: $4,060
Motor Intelligence revealed that a year ago, the incentives were barely around $1,000 ($761 for the Cadillac Lyriq and $1,195 for the Tesla Model Y).
Tom Libby, associate director of industry analysis at S&P Global Mobility, said: "In terms of pure sales performance, EVs are making progress, but underneath the sales are huge incentives. They are not sustainable, and they are causing losses on the part of automakers."
In other words, if Tesla does not improve its results and/or non-Tesla brands reduce incentives, the EV expansion might stall or even reverse for some time. We are ahead of a very interesting and probably very challenging second half of the year.
