Tesla Cybertruck, Honda Prologue, sky-high incentives drive EV registrations

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By Maya Cantina

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Tesla Cybertruck, Honda Prologue, sky-high incentives drive EV registrations

New electric vehicle registrations rose 18 percent in July compared with the same month last year, on the strength of newer models such as the Tesla Cybertruck and Honda Prologue, according to the latest U.S. data from S&P Global Mobility. EV leader Tesla snapped a five-month losing streak in July, with its registrations rising 1.2 percent compared with a year earlier on robust Cybertruck deliveries of 5,175 vehicles, the data showed. All other EV pickup trucks combined sold 5,546. The Cybertruck was launched in November.

The positive trend was driven by sky-high incentives on popular electric crossovers, including $19,703 on the Kia EV9, $13,015 on Volkswagen’s ID 4 and $7,035 on the Honda Prologue, which went on sale in March, according to Motor Intelligence.

Registration data is for all-electric vehicles and does not include hybrids or used vehicles.

“The results are a combination of good performance from EVs that have been on the market for some time and the addition of several new models,” said Tom Libby, an analyst at S&P Global Mobility. Tesla’s return to growth removed a drag on the EV segment that had kept gains at single-digit percentages in previous months, he said.

The widespread use of EV incentives, both from the factory and the government, is boosting sales. The discounts allow retailers to offer approximate price parity with gasoline and hybrid vehicles that would otherwise be significantly less expensive than their electric counterparts, Libby said.

“The caveat is that at full MSRP prices, these EV products will not sell,” Libby said. “They are being heavily incentivized to get their price point close to that of internal combustion vehicles. If the incentives were taken away, I think sales would drop tremendously.”

Total EV registrations in July rose to 118,273 vehicles from 100,620 the previous month, S&P Global Mobility said. EV share of the broader U.S. light-vehicle market rose to 8.5 percent from 7.6 percent a year earlier.

The registration data serves as a proxy for automakers’ sales numbers because Tesla does not disclose its U.S. deliveries and some other automakers do not report electric vehicle sales by model.

In the January-July period, EV registrations grew 8.7 percent compared with the same period last year, S&P Global Mobility said. Electric vehicles captured 7.6 percent of the light-duty vehicle market in the first seven months of the year, compared with a 7.2 percent share in the same period last year, the data showed.

Tesla continued to dominate the EV segment in July with a 48 percent share of registrations. That was a notable drop from its 56 percent share in the month a year ago, S&P Global Mobility said.

Registrations of non-Tesla electric models rose 38% compared with the same month a year earlier as the segment leader’s rivals gained ground, Libby said.

“This is really the second wave of competing vehicles and these are very solid, very competitive products that are hurting Tesla’s position,” Libby said.

Hyundai Motor Group had 10,846 registrations among its Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, good for second place, the data showed. General Motors, in third, had 9,767 registrations for Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Brightdrop. Ford Motor Co. had 9,504, good for fourth place, S&P Global Mobility said.

Amid the upbeat results, there were some signs of weakness among major electric vehicle brands.

Tesla’s Model 3 sedan saw its registrations fall 31 percent in July, compared with a year earlier. In the January-July period, the sedan was down 45 percent. The base Model 3 lost access to the federal EV tax incentive on Jan. 1 due to stricter battery supply requirements.

Registrations of the Rivian R1S crossover, the startup’s best-selling consumer vehicle, fell 18 percent in July compared with the month a year earlier, to 1,545 vehicles. Kia’s EV9, also a three-row electric crossover, had 1,960 registrations in July, outpacing the Rivian R1S. The EV9 went on sale in December.

Combined registrations for Rivian’s R1S and R1T pickup truck, its two consumer models, fell 0.3% in July to 2,522. Rivian closed its Normal, Illinois, factory in April to retool for revamped R1 vehicles. Rivian, including its commercial vans, fell to seventh place among EV brands in July from fourth place in June, the registration data showed.

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