A quick look at some interesting data on sales of electric vehicles…
First, an analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows a slowdown in pure EV (or BEV, meaning only battery) sales in the U.S.
In the first quarter 2024, BEVs lost market share, dropping from 8% to 7%. It’s not full year data, and quarterly sales fluctuate, but it’s a note-worthy shift from an exponential rise over the last few years. And yet, hybrid and plug-in sales rose, party offsetting the decline in BEVs.
For U.S. automakers undergoing a major technological shift and for broader decarbonization efforts, this is mixed news.
But consider a second piece of data…the U.S. only makes up 10% of global EV sales (green bars in chart, dark for full electric, light for partial)
The EU is 25% (purple bars) and China a whopping 60% (blue bars). These other, bigger markets are still growing.
So, American buyers may move more to hybrids — which is fairly rational until the charging infrastructure is in place (my family has one pure EV for all local driving and roundtrips < 250 miles, and one hybrid for longer trips).
But the global shift to full or partial electric vehicles continues.
(Photo: istock by luomon)
- If you enjoyed this post, please pass it on. Subscribe to get all of Andrew’s articles in your in-box.
- Follow Andrew on LinkedIn (I’ve exited Facebook and paused Twitter for now)
- Join the Net Positive movement or to expand your learning, check out our new Net Positive online classes and other executive education offerings.
