EV market share modest in US but wave is coming

In 2021, sales of electrified vehicles in the United States rose 86% year-over-year to 1.46 million units from 783,479.

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While pure battery electric vehicles (BEV) sales in the US increased 89% to 487,460 units, the sale of hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) increased 84% to 969,407 units, according to data from Cox Automotive.

Electrified vehicles sold in the US last year represented approximately 9.75% of all passenger vehicles sold in the country and if you only consider BEVs, they represent less than 4%. California is quite keen to electrification as the state represented more than a third of the market.

Nationwide, at least 20 new electric vehicle (EV) models were on sale in 2021, and this does not include the hybrid and PHEV models that were on offer. Although the increase in sales does look good for EV enthusiasts, the US still lags behind Europe and China. 

However, with governments mandating tougher standards on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in terms of emissions and fuel economy and passing new laws favoring zero-emission vehicles, an all-electric future looks to be in the making.

Improvements in battery technology and increasing the country’s charging infrastructure network will also be needed and this will take a lot of work.

The US needs at least 2.4 million charging stations to support a forecasted 26 million electric vehicles by 2030 but according to the Department of Energy, there are only 43,800 EV charging stations and 136,500 gas stations across the country. (est. 2021)

According to the federal government, the US target is to see zero emission vehicles representing 50% of the new car sales market by 2030 to keep abreast with global trends. With that said, reaching this in less than nine years will certainly take a lot of effort and determination to accomplish.

Making up most of the sales of fully electric vehicles today are the models below.

Top 10 EVs sold in USA, 2021

2021 Tesla Model Y, best-selling EV in US (courtesy of Tesla)

And how do EVs compete with their ICE counterparts? The No. 1 Tesla Model Y was ranked No. 17 best-seller when combined with ICE vehicles.

Top 10 passenger vehicles (overall) sold in USA, 2021

2021 Ford F-150, best-selling passenger vehicle in US (courtesy of Ford)

2022 and beyond

Expect a slew of EV launches in the US over the next few years. In fact, over 85 new models are slated to launch in model years 2022-2025, according to a report by Bank of America analysts, stating that a "tsunami" of new cars is coming.

It includes models from startups and legacy automakers alike, such as Rivian's SUV, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford's electric F-150 Lightning, and many more. EV sales in the US should reach 6% market share in 2022 and 16% by 2024.

However, keep in mind that EVs meeting price parity with ICE vehicles should not occur until 2025 at the earliest, certainly a limiting factor for EV demand over the next few years.

With that said, the target of the Biden administration to see EV sales reach 50% market share in 2030 would require a major and sustained surged in demand during the latter part of the decade. It will take a lot of work from both the public and private sector but this doesn't mean it cannot be done.

Let's see...