U.S. Electric Vehicle Registrations Surged 60% in Q1, Led by Tesla

The growth in electric vehicle (EV) popularity is well underway with consumers, just as new EV registrations are increasing in the U.S. market.

The U.S. saw EV registrations surge by 60 percent in Q1, with Tesla leading the charge and Hyundai and Kia both helping in the push, according to Experian data, reports Automotive News.

The increase in EV sales represents a record 4.6 percent market share of all light-vehicle automobiles.

Meanwhile, total vehicle registrations dropped off by 18 percent in the first three months of the year due to inventory constraints, with a total of 3.4 million being registered.

Tesla had all four of its separate models in the top 10 best-selling EVs, with Korean automaker conglomerate Hyundai and Kia landing three spots in the top 10 models list for Q1.

In the first quarter, Tesla had 113,882 new registrations in the U.S., marking a 59 percent increase year-over-year.

Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 dominated the first quarter’s EV sales, landing the first- and second-place spots in the market’s most-registered EVs.

Hyundai-owned Kia landed the second place spot with 8,450 EV registrations made up of the Kia Niro EV and its recently debuted EV6 compact crossover.

Ford landed the third-place spot with 7,407 registrations, while Hyundai proper posted 6,964 registrations made up of the Ioniq 5 and the Kona EV crossover.

The Nissan Leaf EV increased 23% to 4,401 registrations in Q1, while Volkswagen saw 2,926 registrations of its ID.4 compact crossover, up from 387 year-over-year.

As for General Motors and its troubled Chevrolet Bolt, it only saw 479 registrations, versus 9,099 a year ago. The GMC Hummer saw 80 registrations.

Experian says Tesla leads the overall luxury segment that includes both gasoline and electric, increasing 59% to 113,882 registrations, growing its lead over BMW, which saw a 3.4% dip to 80,482 registrations.