But the market is changing.
Chevrolet’s Bolt EV and slightly larger Bolt EUV had 7.7 percent of the EV market in the January-March period compared with just 0.3 percent a year earlier, according to Experian. General Motors, which paused Bolt sales last year due to a recall, plans to discontinue the sub-$30,000 EVs at the end of the year.
In addition to their low sticker prices, the Bolt siblings qualify for the new EV tax credit of up to $7,500 for buyers. GM recovered access to the tax credit on Jan. 1 under revised IRS rules. GM, like Tesla, lost access to the credit in 2020 after hitting its 200,000-vehicle quota under the old rules.
New Bolt registrations rose to 19,947 in the first quarter, compared with 477 last year, Experian data showed. The subcompact hatchback twins are Chevrolet’s only EV models on sale.
The Ford brand was in third place for EV registrations with 13,362, for an 82 percent increase, the quarterly data showed. Its EV share in the first quarter rose to 5.2 percent from 4.6 percent a year earlier.
Mustang Mach-E registrations fell 12 percent to 6,110 in the quarter. Some Mustang Mach-E production was lost because of factory upgrades, Ford said. F-150 Lightning registrations rose to 5,652 from just 53 a year earlier, and e-Transit van registrations rose to 1,600 from 348, Experian data showed.
Volkswagen registrations for its ID4 rose 244 percent to 10,053 for fourth place on the EV brand chart. VW’s market share more than doubled to 3.9 percent from the year-earlier quarter.
U.S. production of the ID4 started late last year, replacing ID4 imports from Germany. The crossover — VW’s only EV on sale in the U.S. — qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax incentive.
Hyundai’s EV registrations rose 16 percent to 8,064, but its EV market share fell to 3.1 percent in the quarter from 4.4 percent last year as the automaker failed to keep pace with overall gains in the market.
Hyundai buyers lost access to the $7,500 tax credit last summer under new IRS rules that require North American assembly.
Registrations for the Hyundai Ioniq 5 compact crossover fell 6.7 percent to 5,839, Experian said, while registrations for the brand’s smaller Kona Electric rose 190 percent to 1,975. The recently launched Ioniq 6 sedan had 249 registrations.
Mercedes-Benz captured 2.8 percent of the EV market, up from 1.3 percent a year earlier, for sixth place, Experian said. EQS vehicles, including a sedan and a crossover, had 4,487 registrations for a 261 percent increase over the first quarter of 2022.
Two new Mercedes vehicles, the EQB crossover and EQE sedan, had combined registrations of 2,681, Experian said. Neither vehicle was on sale in the U.S. in first-quarter 2022.
California-based Rivian Automotive had 7,134 registrations for the first quarter, vs. 704 last year. The EV startup saw its market share rise to 2.8 percent from 0.4 percent a year earlier.
Registrations of the Rivian R1T pickup rose to 4,109 in the first quarter from 704 a year earlier. The R1S crossover had 3,025 registrations vs. zero in the year-earlier period, Experian said.
BMW’s EV market share increased to 2.8 percent from 0.1 percent a year earlier on registrations of 7,107 for eighth place among brands selling EVs in the U.S.
The BMW i4 sedan had 4,547 registrations, the iX crossover had 2,232 and the i7 sedan had 328, Experian said.
Kia’s EV registrations in the first quarter fell 28 percent to 6,046 and its EV market share dropped to 2.3 percent from 5.3 percent a year earlier. Like its corporate sibling Hyundai, Kia lost access to the $7,500 tax credit last summer because its vehicles are imported from Korea.
