The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and BEVs fell to 18.0% of total new light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales in the United States in the first quarter of 2024. They write:
The share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the United States decreased in the first quarter of 2024 as battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales declined. Hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and BEVs fell to 18.0% of total new light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales in the United States in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24) from 18.8% in 4Q23, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence.
This slight decline in the electric vehicle market share was driven primarily by BEV sales, which fell from 8.1% of the total LDV market in 4Q23 to 7.0% in 1Q24. This decline represents the first BEV market share decline since the economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2Q20.
The U.S. LDV market is highly seasonal, and total sales usually level off in the first quarter after an end-of-year sales increase. BEV sales grew 7% in 1Q24 compared with 1Q23 after 13 consecutive quarters of double-digit gains. The slowdown in growth can be broken into two components:
- An uneven decline in the overall new LDV sales market, where luxury vehicle sales declined more than mass-market sales
- A decline in mass-market BEV sales
BEVs continue to be popular in the luxury vehicle segment, maintaining about one-third of luxury LDV sales from 1Q23 through 1Q24. Of all BEV sales in 1Q24, 8 out of 10 sales were luxury models, in part due to the continued wide availability of luxury BEV options and favorable within-segment pricing from Tesla, Mercedes, Rivian, Cadillac, Audi, and BMW. […]
The U.S. industry average LDV transaction price decreased slightly during 1Q24 as luxury vehicles lost market share. According to Cox Automotive, average BEV transaction prices fell 3.8% compared with 4Q23 and 9.0% compared with 1Q23. Average 1Q24 BEV transaction prices were $6,904 higher than the overall industry average (combined luxury and non-luxury) and $7,290 lower than the average for luxury vehicles, before accounting for any consumer or government incentives.
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