Tesla’s Growth Nearly Stalls, Other EV Registrations Double In U.S.: September 2023 Sales

In September, new all-electric car registrations in the United States continued to increase, although the rate of year-over-year expansion recently decreased.

According to the registration data from Experian (via Automotive News), the total number of battery electric car (BEV) registrations during the first nine months of 2023 amounted to 852,904, which is about 61 percent more than a year ago and about 7.4 percent of the total market (up from 5.2 percent at this same time in 2022).

Registration data lags behind sales/deliveries, by at least several weeks, but can be used as a proxy of sales, especially since not all sales numbers are publicly available (specifically on a monthly basis).

The market is clearly heading towards over one million new all-electric cars in 2023 and about an eight percent market share.

A comparison with the previous report for the January-August period allows us to calculate the number of new registrations in September, which amounted to roughly 98,000 (up about 37 percent year-over-year). This level of sales volume has been quite stable since May.

The most recent rate of growth is slower than earlier this year, although the market share remains record high at around eight percent in August and September, compared to 7.4 percent during the first nine months of the year).

The Automotive News article says that during the nine-month period, Tesla noted 489,454 new registrations (41 percent more than a year ago). The non-Tesla BEV registrations (calculated as the difference between the total and Tesla) amounted to 363,450 (up about 98 percent year-over-year) and over 42 percent share.

Tesla’s share in the all-electric segment in the United States decreased to 57.4 percent from over 65 percent a year ago. That’s a noticeable change.

BEV registrations in January-September 2023:

Tesla (57.4% BEVs): 489,454 (up 41%)
Non-Tesla (42.6% BEVs): 363,450 (up 98%)
Total: 852,904 (up 61%) and 7.4% market share (vs. 5.2% a year ago)

One of the most interesting findings (when comparing the latest numbers with the ones from the previous report), is that Tesla’s EV sales growth almost stalled in September. The number of new Tesla registrations in September amounted to about 51,500 electric cars, which is just about six percent higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, non-Tesla all-electric car registrations more than doubled year-over-year in September to over 46,500.

Soon, non-Tesla BEV sales might be higher than Tesla sales quite regularly.

Brands

When it comes to BEV sales, Tesla remains significantly ahead of other brands (this will not change this year). Chevrolet and Ford were the best of the rest with respectively 50,160 and 46,547 new registrations. Hyundai is also not far behind with over 40,000 units.

BEV registrations (select brands) in January-September 2023:

Tesla: 489,454 (up 41%)
Chevrolet: 50,160 (up 133%) and 5.9% share
Ford: 46,547 (up 22%) and 5.5% share
Hyundai: 40,612 and 4.8% share
BMW: 31,209 (“more than quadrupled”) and 3.7% share
Rivian: 30,240 (“more than tripled”) and 3.5% share
Mercedes-Benz: 27,484 and 3.2% share
Volkswagen: 27,001 (up 145%) and 3.2% share
Kia: 23,304 and 2.7% share
Audi: 17,229 and 2.0% share

Models

In terms of the best-selling models (most registered, to be precise) during the first nine months of the year, the Tesla Model Y registrations increased by 88 percent year-over-year, reaching 293,398. The Tesla Model 3 increased by 15 percent to 165,543. However, in September, only the Tesla Model Y noted a year-over-year growth of registrations, as the Model 3 joined the Model S and Model X in the red.

The third most popular model appears to be the Chevrolet Bolt EUV with close to 31,000 registrations, while the Chevrolet Bolt EV was seventh with over 19,000 units. Both models will soon be discontinued.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is struggling this year, as sales are not growing year-over-year. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen ID.4, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are up, respectively by 145 percent and 35 percent year-over-year. It’s also worth noting how relatively strong and fast-growing sales are for the BMW i4 and Rivian R1S.

BEV registrations (select models) – January-September 2023: