A spike in EV sales following recent tax credits has enabled the United States to become the 2nd largest market for them in the world. EV sales have been steadily increasing in America since the start of the pandemic but according to research done by Counterpoint, sales have increased by 79% YoY in Q1 2023. The tax credit subsidies have largely been attributed to the recent surge in sales. The report explains how the EV tax credit (up to $7,500) which applies to ~20 models due to its requirements, has allowed select manufacturers to hold their own lead in the US EV sales market.
Unsurprisingly, Tesla holds the top spot in those sales accounting for over 62% of battery EV (BEV) sales. Stellantis Ventures, the joint venture between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group which comprises 14 automotive brands, accounts for an impressive 43.85% of the Q1 2023 plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) sales. BMW and Toyota are neck and neck in 3rd and 4th place respectively for PHEVs with GM holding a slight lead over VW at the end of the BEV list.
US EV Q1 2023 Sale Breakdowns (per Counterpoint)
Counterpoint Research Director Jeff Fieldhack commented that the as the US economy continues to show signs of recovery combined with the tax credits, the surge is expected to continue if the conditions remain the same. So a spike in EV sales could actually, at least for the immediate future, become the new norm.
“With the US economy showing signs of recovery, the auto industry, particularly the EV sector, is being helped by government policies announced last year. Tax credits for new and even used EVs are helping consumers, while investments in streamlining the EV battery supply chain, the establishment of a robust network of EV charging stations and the setting up of battery recycling plants nationwide will all support EV sales growth. Therefore, we expect US EV sales to reach around 1.5 million units in 2023 if economic conditions continue improving.”
Discussion (17 replies)
Join Discussion →Ugh, that's not something for the USA to be proud of.
I still don't understand why people pretend EVs do anything to prevent emissions. Pushing for EVs without the appropriate infrastructure investment is like running full speed ahead at an iceberg.
yay?
I just bought a new car - I was thinking very hard about PHEV, and very nearly went with the PHEV Jeep because of the double lease loophole.
But in the end, I didn't.
Tesla seems to be winning the charging network battle - for better or worse.
Most of you know I work at a dealership (Ford/Lincoln), and sales/demand for the EV models has diminished quite a bit. We have a Ford Lightning XLT on our lot and no calls or interest on it for a while now. We had a Pro model early on and the phone calls were almost non stop. Also being able to build/ order an EV or PHEV model has become increasingly difficult due to lack of parts at the plants.
Even if you try to build a gas model vehicle online they make sure you are aware that not all features are available. This isn't just Ford, but a lot of other manufacturers are hit by this as well. We took in a used 2022 GMC Denali HD pick up a while ago with the original sticker in that vehicle. The amount of options omitted from it was surprising.Very odd times in the car world at the moment.
Yep, I remember hearing about that during the pandemic. At one point I saw a short tv news segment and it was pretty bad, more so related to the chip shortage at the time. That's a bummer. I'd hoped things would've improved by now.
Never had that problem and probably never will. Not suggesting that's a good thing, just that it is a very very first world problem not being able to option out brand new cars.
True enough, in regard to 1st world problems, but these things do have a habit of trickling down, one way or another. It could be the models missing features, for gasoline or EV, may take a few more years to hit other markets, while still at full price, but this problem is pretty widespread among many manufacturers even with non-luxury models. Some are using older parts or chips to shoehorn in features with promises of updating them when the right ones become available. I think we all would have doubts about such support and it's more likely those vehicles will just end us being sold as used before that happens.
A common side effect seen here in the US is a spike in prices for older used vehicles which could easily spread to just about every market and as used inventory dries up the prices only get worse. As someone who lives in a state that has been called by Congress a third-world state (I personally witnessed this around 1991 during a CNN newscast), I've seen and heard stories from a number of people about how bad it's gotten in the last few years. For me and my wife, it was bad enough that spending $4K (engine and labor) to replace the engine with a used one (50K) in our 2009 Forester, in 2021, was cheap compared to buying a similar used vehicle with the same mileage (at the time 125K and prices ~$10K-$16K).
This reminded me about how I have never bought a new car. My first car was a used car given to me by my uncle when I was a teenager. My 2nd car was also a used car, which I got as a berfday present, and 25 years later I am still driving that car.
This has really affected the used car market for sure. I sell new and used cars where I'm at, and I tell customers all the time that if you see a decently used vehicle around $15k or below you need to act fast, because in this market those are hard to come by.
I've been leasing my cars/trucks since I started selling cars about 10 years ago, but now that the F150 doesn't quite fit my lifestyle since my back injury, I'm really contemplating a used vehicle and driving it until things calm down (if that ever happens).
I wonder how much of that is because it's an EV, and how much of that is because the Pro version is like a $60k and the XLT version is probably closer to $90k - just MSRP before dealer markups, which can be absolutely ridiculous these days
I got lucky on my latest purchase and was able to get the markup knocked off (helps when I do fleet purchases for our national company locally), but I still paid full sticker price - but markups in my geographical area were going anywhere from $10k on base model equipped trucks all the way up to $30K+ for the high end stuff.
I very nearly leased a PHEV Jeep because of the double lease loophole, but in the end I ended up going back to Ford (mostly just habit).
But if you do lease, it's something to look at if the dealer treats you squarely. The Inflation Reduction Act allows the dealer to take all the tax incentives on EV/PHEV vehicles on leases up front, then if you buy out the lease at the end, you get to take the follow on "used car" tax credits again on the second sale. It can be a decent deal if you are looking to lease in the first place and the dealer cuts you a break because they get those incentives up front, and it adds up to several thousand dollars (low tens of thousands in some cases) in incentives.
You don't have to tell me, I was born in a communist country, where due to the waiting times 1-2 year old cars were often selling for 150-200% list price in the used market. But that didn't affect other markets.
I think the problem is that cars are unnecessarily overcomplicated and filled with electronics, I don't think there was anything wrong with cars from the 90s. With modern materials and manufacturing techniques they could be just as safe as modern ones, and they could be sold at half the price of what a rolling computer farm costs these days.
I never had a new car either, not out of choice, but I could never afford it. I can't say I'd not do it if I could though. But to me afford it doesn't mean the same how most people around here buy new cars. To me it is not really appealing to spend all my savings, plus take out an 5+ year long loan, for a new car that's uglier, has less features and drives worse than my 20 year old one.
The Pro version had a sticker price of $41K which was very appealing, but it was our demo and could not be sold to anyone for a certain amount of time. The XLT is in the lower to mid $70k's. The tax credit is appealing to buyers of EV's, but I just don't think the EV way is ready to take off just yet.
The EU is going for EV's only by 2035 but there are already warnings that this will not be feasable due to material shortages.