Features
24 Feb 21

Highest ever electric-car market share in the US

According to data provided by IHS Markit, battery-electric vehicle registrations reached a record market share of 1.8% in 2020. Plug-in hybrids were excluded from the report.

US vs China & Europe

Earlier, news reached us that Europe had overtaken China as the biggest EV market in the world with 1.36 million EVs sold in 2020. Their market share, which did include PHEVs, reached 23% (including 168,912 BEVs or 14%).

China, meanwhile, also set a record in December 2020, with sales of electric cars exceeding 200,000 for the first time, reaching a total of 224,000. The average market share was 9.4%, including 7% for BEVs.

Gap is narrowing

The US still has some way to go compared to China and Europe, but figures from December 2020 indicate the gap is getting narrower, as that month had a total of 2.5% in BEV registrations (2.8% of retail registrations). Those numbers are still modest but they are three times what they were three years ago.

IHS Markit points out there is considerable variance between regions, going from the San Francisco 11% market share to a much lower 0.9% for the Southwest region.

In 2021, IHS Markit expects that battery-electric car sales will surpass 3.5%. By 2025, more than 10% of the market should be EVs.

The company’s data also shows that more and more electric car owners are returning to the market for another BEV, an important result for a sustainable market.

Tesla dominance

Earlier, Experian published figures showing the BEV market in the US is dominated by Tesla, capturing 79.4% of all BEV registrations (200,561 registrations in 2020, up from 172,438 in 2019). That number is 1.4% of the total car market. The only non-Tesla car in the top 5 was the Chevrolet Bolt, which sold 19,664 times (up 20% compared to 2019).

Putting these numbers in perspective, Tesla now holds fourth place in the luxury car market, following closely behind the top three of BMW, Lexus and Mercedes and overtaking Audi. (Figures: Automotive News & Experian)

US luxury market
1. BMW 287,259
2. Lexus 271,384
3. Mercedes 265,600
4. Tesla 200,561
5. Audi 183,594

As the Biden administration is undertaking to electrify the entire fleet and more and more companies implement sustainability targets, the EV share will only continue to go up. A look at companies that have joined the EV100 confirms this.

Image copyright: Shutterstock

Authored by: Benjamin Uyttebroeck