The battle for supremacy in the electric car market is positively affecting consumers, with a market war leading to price reductions across the sector.
Regarding sales volumes in California, though, Tesla is now the alpha, and its dominance is no longer confined to electric vehicles. The company has overtaken Toyota not just in the EV market, it also tops the state's sales charts for all cars, including those powered by dirty fuel.
The California New Car Dealers Association report of its Q2 data revealed Tesla had the two bestselling cars in the state in 2023 to date, with the Model Y and the Model 3 selling 74,765 and 41,718 units, respectively.
This helped give battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) a record-breaking market share of 21.1% in California in June.
NEWS: The @Tesla Model Y was the best selling vehicle overall in California in June. BEV market share also hit a new all-time high of 21.1%.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 25, 2023
Tesla sold more Model Ys than all new Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Honda Accord and Lexus NX sales combined. pic.twitter.com/93MudvQZMV
Toyota has long been the most popular brand in California, but Tesla has crept up and is taking a larger slice of the consumer pie.
In Q2 alone, Tesla outsold Toyota by 69,212 units to 67,482, according to Experian Automotive (via Electrek). Tesla also boasts the largest market share in Q2 with 14.6%, while Toyota's share stood at 14.2% during the same period.
"That's beautiful to see," wrote Elektrek's Fred Lambert of the change. "If that doesn't light a fire under Toyota's a**, I don't know what will."
Although the bestselling Toyotas in Q2 in California were the Camry and RAV4, which are both powered by internal-combustion engines, the company is making a serious play in the electric vehicle space.
A sales report from the Japanese company detailing figures from the first half of 2023 said it sold a total of 270,476 electric vehicles (including hybrids) in North America, making up 26% of its sales volume, per Torque News.
The manufacturer also has some exciting electric vehicle developments in the pipeline, with new solid-state battery technology that could provide up to 900 miles of range on a single charge, as well as increased optimization of its lithium-ion batteries.
900 miles on a charge? How Toyota's solid-state battery tech could revolutionize EVs
— Clagett (@Clagett) August 1, 2023
https://t.co/3tIe0D1Quk
California has ambitious goals regarding zero-emission vehicles, with the aim that 100% of new car sales by 2035 will be electric or plug-in hybrid models.
"Rapidly accelerating the number of [zero-emission vehicles] on our roads and highways will deliver substantial emission and pollution reductions to all Californians, especially for those who live near roadways and suffer from persistent air pollution," said California Air Resources Board chair Liane Randolph in a press release.
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