The California Auto Outlook, which shares detailed information about the state’s vehicle market, recently released its May 2022 issue covering the first quarter.
Tesla's Model Y and Model 3 were the two best-selling vehicles in California in Q1. Not just electric vehicles, ANY vehicle. @elonmusk $TSLA
1. Tesla Model Y – 21,812
2. Tesla Model 3 – 21,506
3. Toyota RAV4 – 15,990
4. Toyota Camry – 12,257
5. Honda Civic – 11,057— Rob Maurer (@TeslaPodcast) May 18, 2022
The report shows light vehicle registrations dropped 13.8% year-over-year in Q1, similar to the 15.7% drop in car sales nationwide. When it comes to individual vehicle sales, Tesla’s Model Y led the pack, followed closely by the Model 3.
The Model Y was the best seller in California hands down with 21,812 registrations, taking 56% share of the Luxury Compact SUV segment. The Model 3 was the best seller in the Near Luxury Car segment with 21,506 registrations and 65.2% share.
The Tesla Model S led the Luxury and High-End Sports Cars segment with 3,495 registrations with 25.1% share. Tesla’s Model X was the only vehicle that did not win its segment, coming in fifth in the Luxury Mid-Size SUV segment, likely due to production constraints like the rest of the industry.
Tesla sold 48,038 cars in California for Q1, increasing 83.7% year-over-year, with its marketshare up 6% year-over-year. These numbers outsell popular gasoline cars such as the Honda Civic and Toyota RAV4. Most automakers were crippled by the ongoing chip shortage and supply chain headwinds, but clearly, Tesla has fared much better than everyone else, by a significant margin.
When it came to percent change in brand registrations, year-to-date 2022 through March, compared to the same period last year, Tesla increased 83.7%. In second place was Genesis increasing 65.5% year-over-year and MINI in third with 10.7% change, BMW in fourth at 1.1% change and Kia at 0.4% growth. All other automakers saw a decline in brand registrations year-over-year.
The report says new car registrations in California are expected to hit 1.9 million units in 2022, slightly up from last year, despite inflation, higher interest rates and gas prices and war in Europe.
