In a notable shift in the US automotive market, the Tesla Model Y has emerged as the second most registered new vehicle in the first nine months of 2023, closely trailing the long-reigning leader, the Ford F-150.
This information comes from Experian’s latest vehicle registration data, highlighting a significant milestone for electric vehicles in the traditionally gasoline-dominated market, reports Kelley Blue Book.
Experian’s report indicates that while the Ford F-150 maintained its top position with 3% of all new vehicle registrations, Tesla’s Model Y made a remarkable leap to capture approximately 2.5%. This puts the electric SUV just ahead of the Toyota RAV4, which also held 2.5% of registrations but fell slightly behind the Model Y.
The surge in registrations for the Model Y is part of a broader trend observed in the US automotive sector. Approximately 11.5 million new cars were registered through the third quarter of 2023, marking a 12.7% increase from the previous year. This trend suggests a potential total of around 14.9 million new car sales by the end of 2023.
The top ten most common new cars by registration further illustrate the growing presence of EVs versus gas cars. The Model Y is in second and the Model 3 is in the tenth spot:
While Toyota remains the best-selling brand and General Motors the best-selling manufacturer, Tesla’s rise to the eighth best-selling brand, primarily driven by the Model Y, is noteworthy. Tesla’s strategy, including significant price cuts, has contributed to this growth.
The data also reveals a substantial 43.1% year-over-year increase in electric vehicle registrations, contrasting with a modest 1.4% increase in gasoline car sales. Despite this growth in EVs, gasoline-powered vehicles still dominated, accounting for 92.11% of new registrations.
Tesla’s overall market share in the EV sector is experiencing a shift. While sales continue to grow, the introduction of more electric models by other manufacturers is leading to a smaller market share for Tesla.
In the first nine months of 2023, Tesla’s EVs accounted for 57.4% of new registrations, a decrease from 65.4% in the same period last year. But regardless, Tesla’s EV lead remains strong as traditional automakers still struggle to ramp up to mass production and Model Y is becoming the world’s best-selling car, as predicted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2021.
“more electric models by other manufacturers is leading to a smaller market share for Tesla.” Another “skewed” reporting of facts. Tesla’s market share in the EV sector may have declined but the most important market to monitor is the entire auto market which as this data clearly shows, Tesla is on a tear on the upside. They now have about 4% of the entire North American auto market. One out of every 25 vehicles sold is a Tesla! That will only grow even as that EV market share continues to decline. Legacy auto on the other hand will see their ICE sales collapse much faster than their EV contributions will increase, so again, Tesla has lots more ground to gain and will!
The Model Y and Model 3 account for 3.9% of the 11.5M (~ 450k) new cars registered in the first 3 quarters. That means for the entire year, Tesla would sell close to 600k in the US. Way to go!
And still managing 50% CAGR so 1.2M in 2025 and 8% of the entire auto market share? AND still just getting started.