EVs and hybrids drive 18% of car sales, doubling market share since 2021
EVs and hybrids drive 18% of car sales, doubling market share since 2021
Electric vehicles and hybrids accounted for almost 18% of car sales in the third quarter and about 16% so far this year, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The EIA’s data — which it gets from Wards Intelligence — shows that’s up from about 12% last year and less than 9% in 2021.
More people are buying electric vehicles these days partly because there are more of them to buy. Pandemic supply chain issues have eased, and manufacturers have been offering more EV makes and models.
Michael Dwyer at the Energy Information Administration said there are almost three times as many types of EVs to choose from now as there were in 2020. More SUVs and crossovers, and now pickup trucks too.
“A space that hasn’t had any electric options at all until last year,” Dwyer said.
Car companies are also making more hybrids, said Stephanie Brinley at S&P Global Mobility.
“Honda, for example, is getting more aggressive about making sure that they have more CR-V hybrids available,” she said. “Toyota has more and more models that are hybrid only.”
She said hybrids and EVs appeal to different kinds of people.
“Today, electric vehicles are still being sold primarily to innovator and early adopter buyers,” Brinley said. “You have a whole mainstream buyer out there who’s interested in participating more, but not necessarily ready to take the full leap. And hybrid gives them that opportunity.”
Most EVs on the market now are luxury models and more expensive upfront than hybrids and gas-powered cars.
But prices have come down this year, said Jessika Trancik at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“You see 20% drops, 10%, 5%,” she said. “Some of that is improvement in the underlying technology. Some of that is what’s called forward pricing, where companies are pricing strategically in order to gain market share.”
But for EVs to be more accessible to more people, Trancik said, we’re going to need more affordable, entry-level models to come out. And that’s just starting to happen.
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