In the United States, Tesla outsold its next 19 competitors during the first half of 2023, according to S&P Global Mobility data.
The fact is that Elon Musk’s company sold 325,291 vehicles between January and August.
Second place is held by General Motors’ Chevrolet with the Bolt EV, but with 34,943 units sold, a staggering 290,348 fewer cars than Tesla.
They are followed by Ford, Hyundai, and Rivian.
In a media presentation, Cox Automotive pointed out that Tesla has ceded some of the electric vehicle sales in the United States this year as more competitors enter the market.
However, it still accounts for almost two-thirds of all electric vehicle sales. No other brand has more than 10%.
Cox estimated that electric vehicle sales will rise to 8% of total vehicle sales in the U.S. in the third quarter, up from about 6.5% a year ago.
Some of this growth is likely due to falling prices, a trend driven by Tesla, which is using its higher profit margins to lower prices and expand sales.
Cox said the average retail prices of electric vehicles fell to $53,376 in July 2023, down from a high of nearly $70,000 a year ago.
Best-Selling Tesla Models
In nominal terms, four Tesla models ranked among the top 12.
The Model Y and Model 3 took first and second place, with sales in the first half of 200,000 and 160,000 units, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bolt sold 35,000 units, and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E recorded 13,600 sales, a volume that is not enough to fill a typical assembly plant, which needs to operate at 80% capacity or more to be profitable.
According to data compiled by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, electrified vehicle sales, including plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, captured 8.9% of the U.S. market during the first half, 2.6 percentage points higher than the previous year.
But this market share was divided among 103 different models, according to the latest quarterly report from the Alliance.
Ford Shuts Down Battery Plant
Ford has decided to halt work on a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan.
This decision comes as some analysts wondered if the U.S. electric vehicle market would grow fast enough to support all the new assembly and battery operations launched or under construction.
In July, Ford forecasted an annual loss of $4.5 billion in its electric vehicle unit (50% more than projected earlier this year) and said it was slowing down the ramp-up of its zero-emission car production.
The American automaker, like several rivals, has committed billions to build additional electric vehicle and battery plants in the country.
