EVs sure get a lot of publicity. Well, at least Tesla does. It turns out that much of the electric car hype is exactly that, hype, at least for the time being. Though more and more automakers are investing in electric vehicle technology, the actual popularity of them doesn't quite live up to the publicity over the notion that EVs will be ubiquitous in the not-too-distant feature. Sure, there are early adopters, but much of the hype can actually be attributed by the dominance of one model, the Tesla Model 3.
Sales of the Tesla Model 3 have suffered of late, but that doesn't mean it's not knocking things out of the park compared to other EVs. Tesla sold a total of 11,925 vehicles last month, which is almost twice what it sold the same month in 2018. That's huge growth. What's more, Tesla accounted for over half of plug-in vehicle (EV and plug-in hybrids) sales in April of 2019, and the popular Model 3 sold over 10,000 units alone that month.
The rest of the EV segment is showing slow growth, but it's nothing to write home about. The technology is certainly less harrowing than before with issues of range anxiety that plagued the tech at the outset when models like the first Nissan LEAF were getting kicked in the teeth over the issues.
Tesla has been selling an increasing number of vehicles overseas, but the brand aims to get more market share in the U.S. soon thanks to the release of its $35,000 Standard Range Model that costs far less than the $42,900 Mid Range Model 3. But even with the slight slow down in Telsa Model 3 Sales in 2019 compared to 2018, the brand plans to be on target in the coming months. Even if that doesn't happen, they'll still account for the lion's share of EV sales.
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The Toyota Prius Prime hasn't been faring so well in terms of sales lately, eclipsed by Honda's new Clarity Plug-In Hybrid for a bit in late 2018 and early 2019. But sales figures are still modest at best for both models. Other EVs like the Chevy Bolt failed to break 1,000 units in sales in April of 2019, and the same is true for the Nissan LEAF, even with the release of their extended range variant. The stylish but pricey BMW i3 sold a little over 300 units in the same time period.
We've reported in the past about issues with plug-in hybrid electric sales due to the awkwardness of the technology and public confusion surrounding it, but EVs will continue to grow as infrastructure for charging networks and vehicle efficiency improves. As automakers like VW and ramping up EV production, and even Jaguar is looking to go fully electric in the coming years, look for sales volumes to climb even more.
