Global Courant
On May 31, 2023 in Austin, Texas, a Tesla Model Y is seen in a Tesla parking lot. Tesla’s Model Y has become the world’s best-selling car in the first quarter of 2023.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
DETROIT — Legacy automakers continue to promise big increases in battery electric vehicle production and sales, but their efforts have so far done little to change the highly watched, emerging market.
Market leader despite notable increase in sales compared to a year ago Tesla remains the best-selling EV and has increased its lead over older automakers. It is about 300,000 units ahead of its closest competitors Hyundai engine And General engines according to Motor Intelligence in the first half of this year. That compares to a shortfall of about 225,000 in the first half of 2022.
The auto data company reports that Tesla, which does not release sales by region, sold an estimated 336,892 vehicles to US retailers and fleet buyers in the first half of the year, up 30% from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Hyundai – including the Kia brand owned by the same parent company – increased its EV sales by about 11% to 38,457 units during that time. GM, second in EV sales in the first quarter, quadrupled electric car and truck sales to 36,322 units in June compared to a year earlier. And Volkswagen EV sales more than doubled to 26,538 units sold through June.
ford engine, which was second in EV sales behind Tesla last year, rounded out the top five with sales of 25,709 vehicles through June, according to Motor Intelligence. Ford’s electric car sales were up just 12% from a year earlier as the automaker took time to retool some plants, such as a Mexican plant that produces its Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.
“Our EV sales continue to grow. Enhanced stock flow of the Mustang Mach-E began at the end of Q2 following our factory refurbishment earlier this year, increasing Mustang Mach-E sales by 110% in June,” Andrew Frick, Ford vice president of sales, distribution and trucks, said Thursday in a sales message.
Tesla sales
Tesla’s 30% year-over-year revenue growth during the first half of the year was fueled by production at a new Texas plant comes online and expands. However, that was not enough to keep up with the overall growth of the EV market.
Tesla’s market share of electric car sales in the US fell nearly 10 percentage points from a year ago to 60% of electric vehicles sold domestically, according to Motor Intelligence data.
Tesla’s market share decline comes as more competitors enter the field, resulting in overall market growth. Electric vehicle sales in the US were up about 50% through June compared to the first half of 2022.
Legacy automakers, as well as newer companies such as Rivian Automotive, have tried to ramp up production of all-electric vehicles, but many of their productions remain small. Aside from the top slots, only five others have between 1% and 4% market share in the US, according to Motor Intelligence. A large number of others are below 1%.
Tesla’s global shipments exceeded 889,000 EVs during the first half of the year, including 466,140 vehicles during the second quarter. Production is expected to continue to grow as Tesla aims to produce at least 1.8 million electric vehicles by 2023.
CEO Elon Musk has told shareholders that the Texas plant should be the highest-producing auto plant in the US once fully ramped up. Last year, Musk said the Texas plant aims to produce half a million vehicles annually by the end of 2023.
Hyundai rises, GM disappoints
Hyundai’s second-place finish is especially noteworthy given that its vehicles are ineligible for federal EV tax breaks up to $7,500 unless leased. That incentives, which are complex, are designed to favor EVs produced in North America. Hyundai EVs are currently being imported from abroad.
The South Korea-based automaker is leaning into that leasing loophole under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. According to Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, the Hyundai brand has increased the leasing of its EVs from about 2% to start this year and now more than 30%.
“It’s not a level playing field and we’re certainly not happy about it. But that’s the deck that’s been dealt and we’re trying to play that deck as best we can,” Parker said during a call with reporters on Wednesday.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 on display at the New York Auto Show, April 13, 2022.
Scott Mlynn | CNBC
GM’s EV sales have been disappointing so far, especially when it comes to new models featuring the automaker’s “Ultium” battery technologies. The automaker has been criticized for not ramping up production of its latest EVs, such as the GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq, fast enough.
The vast majority of GM’s EV sales during the first six months of the year were from the outgoing Chevrolet Bolt models, which will be discontinued later this year.
GM CEO Mary Barra reiterated last week at the Aspen Ideas Festival that the company’s production of newer EVs is limited due to domestic production of its batteries taking longer than expected.
Barra has said GM has plans to put Tesla on sale by mid-decade as the automaker rolls out more mainstream EV launches later this year, such as the Chevrolet Silverado, Blazer and Equinox. It is also launching a new electric van and a $300,000+ custom Cadillac EV called the Celestiq in 2023.
The Detroit automaker has said it plans to produce 150,000 EVs for the US market this year.
— CNBC’s Phil LeBeau and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal News Group, of which CNBC is a part, is the media partner of the Aspen Ideas Festival.
Mary Barra, GM Chairman and CEO, speaks at the unveiling of the Cadillac Celestiq electric sedan in Los Angeles, California on Oct. 17, 2022.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
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