Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales improved 114 percent y/y in Q3, boosted dramatically by Tesla (+163 percent growth, quarter-over-quarter [q/q]). Despite the woes of CEO Elon Musk, Tesla met its Model 3 quarterly production goals and outstripped its competitors by a long shot (Inside EVs, 10/2). Sales of the Model 3 sedan reached roughly 22,250 units in September, representing almost two-thirds of sales in the BEV segment (Bloomberg Model 3 Tracker, 4/11).
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales fell roughly 6 percent q/q to 29,373 but were still up 29 percent y/y. Sales of the Ford Fusion Energi and C-MAX Energy continued q/q declines and accounted for most of the decrease in the PHEV segment. Ford has nevertheless announced plans of a big $11 billion EV push starting in 2020 with an all-electric performance SUV crossover now codenamed the “Mach 1” (The Verge, 9/9).
Key EV Trends as of October 2018:
- The top five best-selling models are the Tesla
Models 3, S, and X, the Toyota Prius, and the Chevy Volt.
- Automakers sold 110,000 EVs, up 95 percent y/y (29,373
PHEVs and 80,628 BEVs).
- 46 EV advanced fuel vehicle models were available to consumers, including 28
PHEVs, 15 EVs, and three fuel cell vehicles (FCV).