Tesla's grip on the electric vehicle market in the United States is showing no signs of loosening, with new data demonstrating how far ahead the brand sits in terms of sales when compared to its closest competitors.
According to figures from S&P Global Mobility, published by Reuters, Tesla outsold all significant EV rivals combined in the first half of 2023.
Tesla sold 325,291 models in the year's opening six months, and its closest rival, Chevrolet, saw almost 300,000 fewer EV sales, coming in at 34,943.
Ford's decision to hit the brakes on a planned $3.5B battery plant in Michigan highlights a challenge for Tesla's growing crowd of rivals in the U.S. market: Tesla is pushing most of them into unprofitable, low-volume niches - Reuters
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 27, 2023
On a brand-by-brand basis, Tesla outsold its… pic.twitter.com/jnQDOciQr7
Meanwhile, four Tesla models were found in the top 12 of all EV types sold. The Model Y topped the charts, with around 200,000 of these cars making it to U.S. roads.
This is great news for Tesla and for the takeup of cleaner EVs as a whole. EVs, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles account for 8.9% of the whole motoring sector and have seen a 2.6 percentage-point increase from the same period a year ago, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, but the news does present some potential roadblocks for competitors.
According to Reuters, if vehicle manufacturing doesn't reach 80% of capacity, assembly plants will typically not turn a profit. This might discourage other brands from focusing on electric models if the sales don't match the ambition.
Reuters pointed to Ford pausing the construction of a $3.5 billion EV battery plant as a signal that some rivals might be discouraged from increasing their EV stock with Tesla dominating a market that is still developing.
Furthermore, Ford's losses in terms of its EV sector could reach $4.5 billion, which is 50% more than it was expecting.
It's clear, however, that customers in the United States are starting to embrace EVs. The rising figures show an appetite for cars that produce zero tailpipe emissions over dirty-fuel-powered alternatives.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration noted that vehicles accounted for 30% of all energy-related carbon dioxide pollution in 2022. Clearly, a change in attitudes regarding more sustainably powered transportation is needed to limit the volumes of planet-warming gases entering the atmosphere.
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