EV Sales Continue to Break Records Globally through June 2018

It’s no secret that EV sales are growing rapidly worldwide, especially in the Chinese market. With automakers announcing new battery EV (BEV) and plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) models every month and purchase incentives on the rise, more car buyers are opting electric. In 2017, EV sales in the US were just shy of 200,000 vehicles, but despite an increase in sales, EVs only made up about 1% of the total vehicle population in the country. In China, the largest EV market, 2017 EV sales totaled nearly 580,000, but still only made up roughly 2.2% of the vehicle market share in the country.

Despite Low Market Share, EVs Continue to Break Sales Records

Through June 2018, EV sales numbers continued to grow worldwide, with many countries, including the US and China, set to break annual sales records once again. In the US, total sales of plug-in EVs totaled nearly 125,000, up 29% year over year. The Tesla Model 3 continues as the top-selling vehicle of 2018, despite production and stock woes. Given the increasing ramp-up of Model 3 production, Guidehouse Insights expects the Model 3 to maintain its top position in 2018. Moreover, Tesla’s combined sales make up 36% of US EV sales in 2018.

The Toyota Prius Prime once again holds the number one spot for PHEVs with almost double the sales of the next highest selling PHEV, the Chevy Volt. A surprise leader on the PHEV side of sales is the Honda Clarity PHEV. The vehicle came to market in the US in November 2017 and outpaced the Nissan Leaf sales in May and June 2018. The Honda Clarity BEV, on the other hand, has not seen as much success with less than 600 sales through June 2018.

Top 10 EVs by Sales, US: January-June 2018

(Source: InsideEVs)

Chinese Automakers Dominate Home EV Market

In the Chinese market, homegrown automakers lead EV sales, and more models are introduced each month. In March 2018, Chinese OEMs represented about 40% of all EVs registered worldwide. Through the first half of the year, Chinese EV sales reached over 400,000. BYD holds roughly 19% of the Chinese EV market with over 71,000 vehicles sold in 2018. The crown for top-selling EV worldwide goes to the BAIC EC180 with nearly 40,000 sales through the first half of 2018. The SAIC i6 and RX5 made up over 28,000 vehicle sales. Rounding out the top 10 vehicles was the Zhi Dou Electric D2, with 12,437 sales through June 2018.

No Signs of Slowing Down

If sales continue at their current pace, 2018 could see over 270,000 EV sales in the US and 1 million sales in China. The New Energy Vehicle mandate policy in China, requiring 10% of the passenger vehicle market to be electric in 2019, virtually ensures continued growth in the Chinese market. International automakers are slowly entering the world’s largest EV market, but for the time being Chinese OEMs will continue to dominate in their home country. The Tesla Model 3 will hold onto the largest market share in the US EV market.