EV Sales Are Rising. So Why Are Automakers Nervous?

In recent weeks, automakers like General Motors and Ford Motor Co. announced plans to curb the deployment of battery-electric vehicles, leading to a spate of news headlines declaring a worrisome slowdown in EV sales. Some experts say those concerns may be overblown, pointing to rising EV sales and dwindling inventories, but the situation is murky for automakers.

“Third-quarter sales are actually not that bad,” said Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst for the Auto Intelligence service at S&P Global Mobility.

According to an estimate from Kelley Blue Book, U.S. EV sales reached an all-time high of 313,086 in the third quarter of 2023, a 49.8% year-over-year increase.

It was the first time quarterly EV sales topped 300,000, bringing EV sales to more than 873,000 through the first nine months of the year and all but ensuring the U.S. will surpass 1 million EV sales for the first time, possibly by Thanksgiving, KBB said. According to Cox, U.S. EV sales have increased for 13 consecutive quarters.

In the past few weeks, Q3 reports from GM, Ford and other automakers also show relatively strong EV sales.

Of note, Stellantis did not report how many EVs it sold in Q3 but said EV sales increased 37% year over year. In addition, Hyundai Motor Group, which does not report EV sales separately, sold nearly 169,000 hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs in Q3.

Why automakers are worried

Although EV sales reached record highs in Q3 and remain on track to set even more records, automakers are concerned that new car shoppers are adopting EVs at a slower rate, with EV market share increasing just 0.7% from Q2 to Q3.

“Market share hasn’t done the same jump that it did last year,” Brinley said.

EV sales are still growing but not at the “frenetic pace” that 2022 and early 2023 sales figures would have suggested, Brinley said. That’s despite lower prices, more available models and larger inventories.

“Slowing EV demand growth is something that everybody’s been talking about,” GM CFO Paul Jacobson said during the company’s earnings call last month.

Read more here on Automotive Dive.