Following up on our report on US electric car sales in 2021, let’s now look at sales of electric vehicles in the United States in the 1st quarter of 2022.
Based on well informed estimates of US Tesla sales, the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3 dominated sales of electric cars in the United States in the 1st quarter of 2022, just as in previous quarters. Furthermore, the Tesla Model S and Model X took the 3rd and 4th spots in the ranking, even though those totals are far, far below the Model 3 and Model Y totals.
Embarrassingly, that means the first non-Tesla electric vehicle in the ranking was in 5th place, with that honor going to the fun and practical Ford Mustang Mach-E. The Mustang Mach-E has been a hit with consumers, but supply is still greatly limited. That limited supply has also led to high markups of the electric SUV for some buyers. Before going further, though, let’s look at the sales charts with estimates for the Tesla models included, and then switch to sales charts with Tesla excluded so that we can compare the rest of the field better.
After the Mustang Mach-e, the next two models on the chart are some of the newest models on the market — the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. Then you’ve got the trusty old Nissan LEAF. There’s a weird blip in expectations here, though. The Volkswagen ID.4 had been sitting near the top of the charts previously — second only to the Ford Mustang Mach-E (and Tesla models) in the 4th quarter of 2021 and third behind the Mach-E and the Chevy Bolt EV/EUV in the full year 2021. But that changed in 2022. It went from 4,463 sales in the 4th quarter of 2021 to a measly 2,755 sales in the 1st quarter of 2022. That dropped it well below the trusty old LEAF rather than a step above it.
Below those larger-volume models, there are now a few premium-class models that are doing alright for their market segments. Those are the Mercedes EQS, Audi e-tron, and Porsche Taycan. Nonetheless, as good as the numbers look compared to some others, we’re talking fewer than 10,000 sales a year at this pace.
And that’s basically the US electric vehicle market in a nutshell — a small nutshell.
Exploring how these models have seen their sales results change over the past 5 quarters, we’ve got one more chart below. The most notable thing it shows is the dropoff in Chevy Bolt EV/EUV sales in the 4th quarter of 2021 due to the battery issues GM was facing. The VW ID.4’s slide after the 3rd quarter of 2021 also stands out. Then at the end there’s the rise of the brand new Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Mercedes EQS. Otherwise, other notable models have moderate levels of ups and downs from quarter to quarter — all within the almost negligent range of a few hundred sales a quarter to a few thousand sales a quarter.
Interactive versions of the quarterly comparison charts above are below.
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