- Tesla reported lower sales in the first three quarters of 2024, but it still holds over half of the new EV market in California.
- Tesla sold over 105,000 Model Ys in California so far this year, and it remains the state's most popular vehicle.
- Other automakers are growing their EV sales, too, with electric cars now accounting for 22% of all sales in the Golden State.
Even though Tesla sales dropped 8.5% through the first nine months of the year, it still dominates the electric car market in California. And that's a big market. EVs made up 22% of all new cars sold in the state through September, and over half of them were Teslas.
California still leads the way for EV adoption in the U.S., sitting well above the national average for new EV market share. Overall EV market share in the U.S. was 6.8% as of May, according to Edmunds.
New data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) reveals that Tesla managed to secure 54.5% of the EV space, a stunning lead. Hyundai is in second place with 5.6% of the Californian EV market. The Model Y and Ioniq 5, the two brands' most popular models, sold 105,693 and 11,711 units, respectively, reflecting the almost tenfold difference in market share.
The CNCDA notes that “this marks a full year of registration declines for Tesla in California, leaving the 'alternative powertrain door' open for traditional automakers. [Traditional m]anufacturers and dealers have embraced this shift, expanding their share of battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales to 40.2 percent as consumers increasingly turn to exciting, new electric vehicle (EV) options.”
The Tesla Model Y was the most popular vehicle sold, followed by another Tesla, the Model 3, with 37,219 sales.
BMW was third with 5% of the EV market, and its most popular car in California was the i4, which was also the state’s sixth best-selling electric car. BMW and Hyundai saw sales increase by 1.3 and 3.6% year-over-year, respectively. Rivian had the state’s second-biggest year-to-date sales surge of 35.4% and delivered 9,049 vehicles.
Its biggest seller was the R1S with 6,279 units sold, which made it the state’s most popular large luxury SUV, holding a 23.3% share of the segment. Californians bought more R1S trucks than they did the Lexus TX and Cadillac Escalade combined.
Tesla’s decline through the third quarter is nothing compared to the plummeting EV sales experienced by other manufacturers. Volvo sold a whopping 68% fewer EVs, dropping from 2,438 to 774 registrations. It's banking on the U.S.-built EX90 to bring in more buyers. Polestar and Porsche were also down by 37.1 and 24.7%, respectively. Mazda saw a drastic 92% drop, going from 87 units sold in the same period of 2023 to just 7 units sold this year, as its lone U.S.-market EV, the MX-30, has been discontinued.
