August 30, 2024: Tesla lost its place as the majority seller of EVs in the US in the second quarter of this year, despite a rise in EV and hybrid sales nationally, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on August 26.

Tesla is still the leading manufacturer in the EV sector in the US, but its market share fell to under 49% of total EV sales in Q2, decreasing to less than 50% of the light-duty vehicles (LDVs) sold for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2017.

According to the EIA, citing estimates from Wards Intelligence, the share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the US increased in Q2 after a slight decline in the first quarter of the year.

Combined US sales of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid EVs, and battery electric vehicles increased from nearly 18% of total new LDV sales in Q1 to nearly 19% in Q2.

Sales shifted from Tesla to so-called legacy manufacturers such as Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, and Kia, EIA said. Ford accounted for 8% of sales in the EV market in Q2, the second-largest share, driven by the sales of the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning.

Just over 74% of EVs sold in the US were manufactured in North America in Q2, compared to nearly 79% in the same period last year.

A year-over-year comparison shows that the total share of EVs sold in the US and manufactured in South Korea increased from 8% in Q2 2023 to more than 12% in Q2 this year, while the share of EVs manufactured in Japan increased from 2.4% to 7.2%.

To qualify for clean vehicle tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act, manufacturers must comply with domestic content requirements for final assembly, battery components, and critical mineral inputs that extend beyond simply manufacturing in North America, the EIA said — meaning not all vehicles classified as manufactured in North America qualify.

Batteries International reported last April that two of Tesla’s senior staff had resigned in the aftermath of the company confirming it would be laying off more than 10% of its global workforce.