US electric vehicles, hybrids reach record of nearly 18% of light-duty sales in Q3

Hybrid and electric vehicles reached a record of 17.7% of all new light-duty vehicle sales in the US during third quarter 2023 as prices eased and internal combustion engine vehicle sales declined, the US Energy Information Administration said Nov. 27.

To date, over 1 million plug-in electric vehicles have been sold in the US, with S&P Global Commodity Insights analysts projecting that number to reach about 1.4 million by the end of 2023, said Suzanna Massingue, low carbon transportation analyst with S&P Global.

That would be an increase of 52% year on year.

"US plug-in electric vehicle sales have performed well this year, with September sales coming in at 133,428 units -- a record high of 11.5% market share of light-duty vehicle sales," Massingue said. "This represented a 71% year-on-year increase in the eighth consecutive month of over 100,000 EV sales, highlighting the consistent growth seen this year."

So far this year, sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles have made up 15.8% of all new light-duty vehicle sales in the US, up from 12.3% in 2022 and 8.5% in 2021, according to Wards Intelligence data used by the EIA.

"The share of total light-duty vehicle sales for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles rose due to both a decline in sales of non-hybrid gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles as well as an increase in sales of several existing battery-electric vehicle models," the EIA said in a statement Nov. 27. "Battery-electric vehicle prices declined across the most popular models, contributing to the rise in third-quarter sales."

EV prices drop

Average battery-electric vehicle prices decreased 5% during Q3 to $50,283, 24% lower than at the price peak seen in Q2 2022, according to the EIA. Battery-electric vehicle prices are now within $3,000 of the overall industry average transaction price for light-duty vehicles. The average price paid for all light-duty vehicles fell less than 0.5% during that same time.

While battery-electric vehicle sales continue to be focused in the luxury category and grew to 34% of the total luxury vehicle market in Q3, they are still below 2% of the non-luxury vehicle market, according to the EIA.

"As a share of sales within each powertrain type, vehicle sales classified as luxury accounted for 91% of all battery-electric vehicle sales and 13% of non-hybrid gasoline- or diesel-fueled engine vehicles, compared with 19% of the total light-duty vehicle market," the EIA said. "This breakdown aligns with the current slate of battery-electric vehicle models offered by manufacturers: More than two-thirds are classified as luxury vehicles by Wards Intelligence."