Experian data shows 214,111 EVs were registered nationwide during the first half of 2021, up from 98,351 at the same point a year earlier. EVs made up 2.5 percent of all registrations in the U.S., up from 1.5 percent through June 2020.The Model Y’s dominance in the growing EV market comes even as other automakers invest in their electric offerings and come to market with new models, including in popular crossover segments. Ford, for example, has become the country’s third-largest brand by EV registrations, having registered 11,068 Mustang Mach-E crossovers in the first half. Other recent electric crossover entrants include the Volvo XC40 and Volkswagen ID4.
Tesla’s competitors continue to eat into its market share, even as the brand still dominates the EV segment. Tesla accounted for 66.3 percent of all EV registrations in the first half, compared with about 79.6 percent in the first half of 2020.
Chevrolet, the country’s second-biggest brand by total EV registrations, saw its electric registrations surge 152 percent from a year earlier to 20,597 vehicles. Audi, the largest non-Tesla luxury brand by EV registrations, rose 134 percent to 7,070 electric vehicles.
Tesla registrations, meanwhile, rose 81 percent from 2020 in large part because of the Model Y. Model 3 sedan registrations rose 8.4 percent to 56,755 vehicles.
Those for the Model S sedan and Model X crossover plummeted 74 percent and 81 percent, respectively, as the automaker dealt with production slowdowns.
More than 100 EV models are planned for sale in the U.S. over the next few years. Caldwell said the arrival of new electric crossovers, as well as upcoming electric pickups such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, will challenge Tesla’s dominance in the EV market like never before.
“Other automakers seem like they are finally like, ‘OK, we get it,’ ” she said. “People don’t want the small, quirky, weird car that says, ‘Hi, I’m an EV.’ They want something that looks good.”
