Despite earlier reports stating that EV sales were falling flat, 2024 saw record EV sales in the United States and around the world. In the U.S. alone, EV sales hit 1.3 million in 2024. Tesla owned the largest share of these sales with 634,000, but it was a 5.6% drop from 2023. However, other automakers like GM, Hyundai, and Ford made up the slack.
Big Year For EV Sales
Earlier in the year, there was a lot of talk that EV sales had stalled badly after 2023. However, now that 2024 is in the books, it turns out that sales were big across the country. Tesla experienced a drop in its sales to the tune of 5.6%, but overall sales for EV models hit a record high. Several companies sold more EV models than ever.
The overall auto market grew by 2%, but EV sales grew by 7.3% and claimed an 8.1% market share. The momentum appears to still be there. In the latter half of 2024, over 700,000 new EV models were sold. In global sales, EVs did even better. Hybrids and fully electric vehicles accounted for a 25.6% rise. This was mainly due to strong EV sales in China.
The United States is still behind the rest of the world for EV adoption, which makes sense considering the lack of reliance on public transportation. However, sales are growing at a steady rate.
Other Automakers Take Advantage of the Tesla Slump
The American EV market didn’t grow as fast as it has in the past, nor did it grow as fast as some had predicted. However, it was still an up year. Tesla sold around half of the total EVs sold in the U.S., but the company was down overall in both domestic and global sales. The reason is mainly its aging and unvaried lineup, plus increased competition from other automakers.
GM was among the largest benefactors of Tesla’s reduced sales. It moved over 114,000 EV models under the GMC, Chevrolet, and Cadillac brands. The most popular models were the Chevy Blazer EV, the Chevy Equinox EV, and the Cadillac Lyriq. GM’s EVs were praised for their good range, attractive looks, and affordable prices.
Hyundai Motor Group also did well. Its top-selling EVs included the Hyundai Ioniq 5 crossover and the Kia EV9 three-row SUV. Overall, the automaker sold roughly 124,000 EV models, making it the number two in sales behind Tesla.
Surprising Also-Rans
There were enough sales to go around for even automakers that you wouldn’t expect. For example, BMW sold over 50,000 EV models in the U.S. for the first time. Another surprising sales winner was the Honda Prologue. The Prologue was Honda‘s first EV in the U.S. market and it was actually built by GM. It managed to score 33,000 sales despite only debuting in the latter half of the year.
On the other hand, Toyota and Lexus didn’t put a lot of effort in with only two barely competitive EVs, but they still managed to double their EV sales to 28,000. Toyota also had a huge year for hybrid sales.
