Photo: Ford | Edited
Although legacy carmakers vowed to replace Tesla as the market leader, the latest data show they are not progressing. Experian registration numbers for the January-May period show that Tesla is still selling 6 out of 10 EVs in the US and is responsible for half of the US EV sales growth. The carmakers that reported increased sales in 2022, including Ford, Kia, and Lucid, are the most affected.
Only five years ago, almost everyone in the automotive industry thought surpassing Tesla was a piece of cake. Manufacturing powerhouses such as Toyota, Volkswagen, GM, or Ford were convinced that replacing the combustion engine with an electric motor would be easy, and Tesla would be doomed to lose the game it invented. A long line of "Tesla killers" were announced, but they died before even Tesla started noticing them.
Last year, the market matured, and all major carmakers reported increased EV sales. This led to a shrinking market share for Tesla, and everyone was convinced this was it, the moment Tesla would be put in its place, a mere drop in the ocean of car sales. Still, people were looking at the wrong numbers, focusing on EV sales while Tesla began conquering the overall car market. It took almost a year, but in 2023, traditional carmakers had to admit defeat.
GM now thinks selling EVs under $40,000 is unprofitable, while Ford noticed its EVs started piling up on dealer lots, despite recent price cuts. Volkswagen executives have an even more acute sense of disaster, with the company's CEO Thomas Schaefer admitting "the roof is on fire" during an online meeting with his staff. Nobody except Tesla is making money selling EVs. Still, they are forced to do it because this is where the market is heading.
Experian registration data compiled by Automotive News shows that EV registrations in the US rose by a healthy 68 percent in the January-May period to a record 447,514 vehicles. This represents a 7 percent share of the US light vehicle market in the five months of the year, up from 4.6 percent a year earlier.
Still, data shows that legacy carmakers and EV startups alike are hurting, with only Tesla managing to remain on top of its game. Surprisingly, the most affected are hot EV brands from last year, including Ford, Kia, and Lucid. At the same time, veterans such as Cadillac and Porsche are now near the bottom of the 25 brands appearing in the latest registration data.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E, one of last year's best performers, is now in free fall, with 29 percent fewer sales in the first five months of the year compared to 2022. This is even though Ford slashed prices to better compete with the Tesla Model Y. Ford F-150 Lightning is doing no better, despite remaining the best-selling pickup in the US, ahead of Rivian R1T.
Ford claims increased sales for the electric pickup truck in 2023, but that's only because it started sales in May 2022. Ford's overall EV business grew 30 percent, far below the 68 percent of the overall EV market. This made it lose market share, from 6.5 percent in January-May 2022 to 5 percent this year.
Hyundai and Kia, two other hot brands in 2022, were severely affected by the loss of tax credit this year. The Inflation Reduction Act requires EVs to be built in North America, and so far, none of the Korean models fulfills this requirement. Both companies try to use the leasing loophole while planning to start local EV production as soon as possible.
Last year, the market matured, and all major carmakers reported increased EV sales. This led to a shrinking market share for Tesla, and everyone was convinced this was it, the moment Tesla would be put in its place, a mere drop in the ocean of car sales. Still, people were looking at the wrong numbers, focusing on EV sales while Tesla began conquering the overall car market. It took almost a year, but in 2023, traditional carmakers had to admit defeat.
GM now thinks selling EVs under $40,000 is unprofitable, while Ford noticed its EVs started piling up on dealer lots, despite recent price cuts. Volkswagen executives have an even more acute sense of disaster, with the company's CEO Thomas Schaefer admitting "the roof is on fire" during an online meeting with his staff. Nobody except Tesla is making money selling EVs. Still, they are forced to do it because this is where the market is heading.
Experian registration data compiled by Automotive News shows that EV registrations in the US rose by a healthy 68 percent in the January-May period to a record 447,514 vehicles. This represents a 7 percent share of the US light vehicle market in the five months of the year, up from 4.6 percent a year earlier.
Still, data shows that legacy carmakers and EV startups alike are hurting, with only Tesla managing to remain on top of its game. Surprisingly, the most affected are hot EV brands from last year, including Ford, Kia, and Lucid. At the same time, veterans such as Cadillac and Porsche are now near the bottom of the 25 brands appearing in the latest registration data.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E, one of last year's best performers, is now in free fall, with 29 percent fewer sales in the first five months of the year compared to 2022. This is even though Ford slashed prices to better compete with the Tesla Model Y. Ford F-150 Lightning is doing no better, despite remaining the best-selling pickup in the US, ahead of Rivian R1T.
Ford claims increased sales for the electric pickup truck in 2023, but that's only because it started sales in May 2022. Ford's overall EV business grew 30 percent, far below the 68 percent of the overall EV market. This made it lose market share, from 6.5 percent in January-May 2022 to 5 percent this year.
Hyundai and Kia, two other hot brands in 2022, were severely affected by the loss of tax credit this year. The Inflation Reduction Act requires EVs to be built in North America, and so far, none of the Korean models fulfills this requirement. Both companies try to use the leasing loophole while planning to start local EV production as soon as possible.
Google News