Americans registered 56% more electric cars through August of 2022 than during the same period last year. Most of them were Teslas. But there’s a new No. 2 in the electric vehicle (EV) race: Hyundai Motor Group.
EV Sales Starting to Snowball
Electric car adoption is speeding up. Through the first eight months of 2021, according to Experian, 2.6% of new cars registered in America were EVs. Through the same period this year, that figure was 5%.
The news matches industry forecasts that electric car adoption will snowball rather than increase linearly. One recent analysis found the 5% line to be a tipping point, after which sales will speed up.
Tesla Has a Big, Shrinking Lead
Tesla has a massive lead on the competition, Experian found. Nearly two-thirds of new EVs registered in the first eight months of the year were Tesla products. The Tesla Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan led all EV registrations.
But the competition is chipping away at the gap. Non-Tesla brands have grown faster than Tesla this year.
Hyundai Motor Group’s three brands – Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis – all launched new EVs early in 2022. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis Electrified G80 all helped move the company into second in the race, with 9.4% of all new EV registrations.
Ford – the old runner up – took third with 7.3%.
The two may swap places again when figures for the last third of the year are released. The hot-selling Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck began shipping to customers in mid-summer – too late to affect Experian’s figures.
Automakers Selling Every EV They Can Build
Availability, more than demand, may be controlling the numbers this year. Virtually every electric car is selling well. The leaders are the manufacturers currently building them fastest.
A worldwide shortage of microchips has left automakers unable to produce some cars as fast as they’d like to all year. As automakers catch up and begin producing new models, the race may take new shape. General Motors, for instance, saw its EV registration numbers slip from 2021.
But the company has plans to release several EVs that could radically improve its numbers, including a Chevrolet Equinox EV that could cost as little as $22,500 after federal tax incentives and a Silverado EV to compete with the Lightning for the affection of electric truck shoppers.
