Americans are slowly warming up to electric vehicles, it seems.
A recent study by Deloitte found that 69% of Americans were hesitant to purchase an electric vehicle and were more likely to buy an ICE-powered vehicle. But it seems the attitude toward EVs is slowly changing, with local consumers slowly embracing the battery-powered revolution. This is backed up by the latest first-quarter EV registration figures, which have seen a 60% increase.
Citing data from Experian, Automotive News reports electric vehicle registrations totaled 158,689, accounting for a record 4.6% market share of the light-vehicle segment. As usual, Tesla dominated the charts, with as many as four separate models found among the top 10 best-sellers. Hyundai and Kia also performed well, with Nissan, Ford, and Volkswagen rounding off the list. Impressively, Tesla totaled 113,882 new registrations in the first quarter, representing a 59% gain compared to the same period last year.
The Niro EV and stylish EV6helped Kia secure the second-place spot, with a total of 8,450 registrations. The Korean company may be some way behind its American rival, but it’s worth noting this figure soundly thrashes 2021’s Q1 figure of just 1,011 registrations.
The Blue Oval managed to net a third-place finish, with 7,407. The Mustang Mach-E led Dearborn’s EV registrations, with Experian noting registrations soared over 80%. The E-Transit and F-150 Lightning also played their part, with 396 and 54 registrations, respectively. In total, Ford saw a 91% increase in EV registrations and this will likely grow further in the second quarter with F-150 Lightning deliveries in full swing.
Elsewhere, Hyundai managed to muster 6,964 registrations. Of those nearly-7,000 vehicles, 6,265 were the Ioniq 5. The more conventional Kona EV (685) and now-defunct Ioniq (14) proved less popular. While not as successful as Kia, Hyundai can still be proud – in the first quarter of 2021, just 2,072 Hyundai EVs were registered.
Further down the list are Nissan and Volkswagen. America’s cheapest EV, the Leaf, garnered 4,401 registrations in the first quarter, while 2,926 examples of the Volkswagen ID.4 were registered. The once-popular Bolt saw a steep decline in terms of registrations, mostly due to the factory shutdown; just 479 examples were registered compared to 9,099 in the same period last year.
Interestingly, GM did manage to attain 80 registrations for the new GMC Hummer pickup truck. Polestar managed to post impressive numbers, with 2,384 registrations. Relative newcomers Rivian and Lucid posted 701 and 308 registrations, respectively. With these numbers in mind, it appears the American population is slowly warming up to the idea of electric cars. There’s still a long way to go, though – battery-powered cars remain out of reach for many consumers and there’s a dire need for affordable electric cars.
