Tesla owns 79% of the electric car market in the US, and that needs to change

Tesla owns almost 79% of the electric car market in the US, according to registration data, but that needs to change, as per Tesla’s own mission.

During the first half of 2020, registration data showed that Tesla owned nearly 80% of the US’ electric car market.

This was especially impressive considering 2020 was the first year Tesla buyers didn’t have access to federal tax credit for electric vehicles, making other electric cars more competitive.

The incredible market share was expected to slip as more EVs hit the market, but now we learn that Tesla was able to maintain the lead throughout 2020.

New registration data shows that Tesla had 79% of the market for the whole year [via Auto News]:

According to new data from Experian, Tesla accounted for 79% of U.S. EV registrations in 2020, with 200,561 of its battery-electric vehicles registered, a 16 percent jump from 2019, when owners registered 172,438 Teslas.

Here are the top 10 electric cars by sales in the US in 2020:

1. Tesla Model 3: 95,135
2. Tesla Model Y: 71,344
3. Chevrolet Bolt EV: 19,664
4. Tesla Model X: 19,652
5. Tesla Model S: 14,430
6. Nissan Leaf: 8,972
7. Audi E-tron: 7,089
8. Porsche Taycan: 3,943
9. Hyundai Kona EV: 2,964
10. Kia Niro EV: 2,807

Electric vehicle sales in the US were up 11% in 2020, which doesn’t sound like much, but it is actually a good result, considering the overall automotive market was down due to the global pandemic.

However, electric vehicles still accounted for only 1.8% of the US automotive market – up from 1.4% in 2019.

Electrek’s Take

These are some impressive results from Tesla and show that the company’s strategy to invest in high-volume electric vehicle programs is paying off.

But Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the advent of renewable energy and electric transportation, and the company was always aware that it can’t do it alone.

The goal was to push the industry to accelerate its transition to battery-electric vehicles. I think it’s working in terms of investments in electrification, but in the US, we are still not seeing the results.

The only non-Tesla EV with more than 10,000 sales is the Chevy Bolt EV – which GM heavily discounted in 2020.

Globally, 2021 is going to be a massive year for electric vehicles, but I think it won’t be felt as much in the US. 2022 should be the year for EVs in the US, especially with some electric pickup trucks hitting volume production.

I think we are going to see Tesla’s market share of the EV market in the US fall below 50%, but EV market shares in the overall automotive market are going to be over 10% with several more high-volume EV programs.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.