The electric vehicle (EV) market appeared to be a niche space through the 2010s. However, the emergence of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) as an electric-powered luxury vehicle brought EVs an additional bit of cachet. Now, the EV market has been thrust into the mainstream.
Total sales of EVs made up 4% of all vehicle sales in 2020, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). That number grew to 14% by 2022, which represented a massive uptick. This further illustrated the movement of other major automobile manufacturers into the EV space. The IEA further reported that over 2.3 million EVs were sold in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023. That represented a 25% increase compared to the previous year. The report estimated that we would see 14 million in EV sales by the end of 2023, representing a 35% year-over-year jump. Moreover, that would mean that EV sales would grow to 18% of total car sales.
On October 12, Cox Automotive reported that EV sales in the United States jumped to more than 300,000 for the first time in the third quarter. That caused Tesla’s market share to drop to its lowest point on record in the EV space. Tesla now has control of just half the market, which is down from the 62% it held in Q1. This has occurred despite price cuts introduced by Elon Musk to beat out rising competition.
Ford (NYSE:F) announced that it would jump into the EV space several years ago. This year, the company said that it would lose $3 billion on EVs in 2023. However, it also stated that EV sales were on the uptick and that development losses were covered by earnings in its other two divisions.