New Tesla cars are on display at a Tesla dealership on December 20, 2024 in Corte Madera, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
DETROIT – Sales of all-electric vehicles and hybrid models reached 20% of new car and truck sales in the US last year for the first time – marking a turning point for “green” vehicles, but at a slower pace than many previously expected.
Automotive company Motor Intelligence reports that more than 3.2 million “electrified” vehicles were sold last year, or 1.9 million hybrid vehicles, including plug-in models, and 1.3 million fully electric models.
Traditional vehicles with gas or diesel internal combustion engines still accounted for the majority of sales, but fell to 79.8%, falling below 80% for the first time in modern automotive history, according to the data.
As for the sale of pure electric vehicles, Tesla continued to dominate, but Cox Automotive estimated that its annual sales fell, with market share falling to about 49%, down from 55% in 2023. The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 are estimated to be the best-selling EVs in 2024.
It was after Tesla in EV sales Hyundai Motorincluding Kia, at 9.3% of the electric vehicle market share; General Motors to 8.7%; and then Ford engine to 7.5%, according to Motor Intelligence. BMW rounds out the top five with 4.1%.
The US EV market is highly competitive: Of the 68 major EV models tracked by Cox’s Kelley Blue Book, 24 saw year-over-year sales increases; 17 models were new to the market; and 27 reduced the volume.
There is more uncertainty about how sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will play out this year, pending potential actions by the upcoming Trump administration.
Currently, sales of EVs and plug-in electric vehicles are subsidized by a federal credit of up to 7,500 dollars for the purchase of one of the vehicles, which the agent Donald Trump could remove, along with other support for electric vehicles.
Cox Automotive expects to set another record for electric vehicle volume in 2025, with around 10% of new vehicle sales. Including hybrids, the company predicts that one in four vehicles sold this year will be electrified.
— CNBC’s Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.
