Electric Car Sales

Last year was a record-breaking year for EVs, with sales passing the 1 million mark for the first time, and 2024's EV sales are on track to exceed 2023's. To top it off, many research and consulting firms expect EV sales to increase yearly over the next several years. Below, we discuss past and current EV sales based on data collected from the experts at Edmunds. We also include hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales, as well as future EV sales projections.

EV sales in the U.S. are growing 

Although EV sales aren't as high as expected this year, they are still on track to top last year's record sales. Through July of this year, 650,280 EVs have been sold, which is more than half of last year's sales and almost as much as the 713,145 sold in 2022. EV sales have increased every year since 2015 and will likely triple this year from the 389,410 sold in 2021.

The market share — or the percentage of new vehicle sales — for EVs has also increased from 6.9% last year to 7.1% through July of this year. As with sales, EV market share could triple this year from the 2.6% we saw in 2021. The EV market share was a paltry 0.3% in 2015, when the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S were two of the few electric options available. 

Hybrid sales are surging, outpacing EV sales 

There's a reason why many automakers are putting the brakes on their EV rollouts and have pivoted to increasing hybrid production: Hybrid sales are booming. Last year, 165,470 more hybrids were sold than EVs, and through July of this year, 820,864 have been sold, which puts them on track to beat last year's sales. Hybrids will undoubtedly outsell EVs this year and have already topped their 2022 sales.

Hybrid sales saw their biggest surge last year, increasing from 754,722 in 2022 to a whopping 1,242,608 in 2023. That put the hybrid market share at 8% last year, and because of the continued growth this year, hybrids are approaching the 10% mark with 9% of the market share through July of this year. Hybrid market share was 5% in 2021 and only 1.8% in 2015. 

Plug-in hybrids (also called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or PHEVs) provide an electric driving range before they switch to operating like a regular hybrid when the battery runs low. Although sales are significantly lower than those of EVs and regular hybrids, this year will see the most plug-in hybrid sales ever and possibly the biggest jump in sales we've seen. Almost 150,000 have been sold through July of this year, which is almost as much as the 177,081 sold last year. The market share was only 1.1% last year and has increased to 1.6% this year, which is double the market share from 2022.

Total EV, hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales 

The combined sales of EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids reached 2.5 million in 2023, making up 16% of the market share. Through July of this year, the market share has increased to 17.7% with 1,620,624 units sold. Sales of these three types of vehicles could hit 20% market share within the next two years.

ICE vehicle sales continue to dominate, but their market share is shrinking 

A little over 13 million internal combustion engine vehicles, or ICE vehicles, were sold last year, constituting an overwhelming 84% of the market share. But their market share has slightly decreased to 82.3% through July of this year, with sales of a little over 7.5 million. The market share for ICE vehicles was 94.9% in 2019 and has dropped every year since 2015. We expect the market share of ICE vehicle sales to continue to drop as the popularity of EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids increases. 

EV sales are projected to grow over the next several years 

EV sales aren't exploding as many had anticipated, but that doesn't mean they are spiraling down. Automotive research and consulting companies like AutoPacific are still forecasting EV sales to grow until the end of the decade – and likely beyond that. A recent study by AutoPacific predicts that by 2026, EV sales will hit 2.5 million, resulting in 15% of the market share. By 2029, the company says 4.1 million EVs will be sold, representing a market share of 25%. 

But AutoPacific's projections are conservative compared to two other studies. A recent report by Recurrent says that revised estimates from Boston Consulting Group and the International Energy Agency says that the EV market share will be about 50% by 2030. The report states that lower battery costs, increasing EV options, low used EV prices, and federal and state programs are bolstering EV growth.