California has a record market share of 22% for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and more than 40% when PHEVs and HEVs are taken into account.
Tesla has been responsible for much of California’s EV leadership, but the automaker is currently struggling in a key EV market.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) currently have an all-time record of 22.2% market share in the state. This is more than double the national BEV market share.
Tesla was the main contributor to this growth until 2023, but this stopped in 2024.
Tesla’s sales are down 12.6% year-to-date, according to CNCDA data.
To be fair, overall car sales in the state are down 1.7% year-to-date, but Tesla sales are certainly lower than average and BEV sales are still growing.
CNCDA commented on the situation as follows:
This marks a full year of declining Tesla registrations in California, leaving the door open for alternative powertrains for the traditional automaker. Manufacturers and dealers are embracing this change, increasing battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales share to 40.2 percent as consumers increasingly turn to exciting new electric vehicle (EV) options.
Despite Tesla’s sales slowdown, the company still has four cars in the top 10 best-selling EVs in the state, and the Model Y is definitely in a league of its own.
RankModelTypeRegs.1Tesla Model YBEV105,6932Tesla Model 3BEV37,2193Hyundai Ionic 5BEV11,7114Ford Mustang Mach EBEV8,0135Toyota RAV4PHEV7,8056Tesla Model XBEV7,3127BMW i4BEV6,6678Tesla CybertruckBEV6,349 9Rivian R1SBEV6 ,27910 Jeep Wrangler PHEV6,277
But at the end of the day, BEVs are still growing in the state, even as Tesla sales are declining and broader vehicle sales are also declining.
Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E are making up for some of Tesla’s slump.
Tesla isn’t the only EV maker with problems in California. We see BEV sales from Chevrolet, Polestar, Porsche VW, and Volvo plummeting.
However, Chevrolet’s crash was due to the transition from the Bolt EV. Sales should start to recover once new EVs are released through the brand.
GM is also seeing a rapid increase in sales of GMC brand BEVs.
In the luxury BEV segment, most segments except Tesla are doing well, with Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus all posting double-digit growth rates.
Rivian also did well, with deliveries in California up 35%.
But to be fair to Tesla, all of those increases were due to relatively low deliveries last year, though Tesla delivered a record 182,000 electric vehicles in the state in 2023. That’s more than all other automakers combined.
FTC: We use automated affiliate links that generate income. more.
