We’re now really starting to see the full effects of the Trump administration’s war on electric vehicles as U.S. registrations fell a staggering 41% year-over-year in January — causing gas- and hybrid-powered vehicles to regain marketshare. Just 59,802 EVs were registered during the first month of the year out of a total of just under 1.2 million vehicles, according to data from S&P Global Mobility.
Electric Vehicles’ share of the marketplace fell to a scant 5.1% in January — down from 8.3% a year earlier. At the same time, internal-combustion-powered vehicles rose 2.3% to 76.6% of the market, and hybrids gained 1% to hit 14.7%. Things are not looking too hot for our battery-powered friends, and it certainly explains why so many automakers are taking huge losses right now. From Automotive News:
Some automakers have used aggressive promotions to keep electric vehicles moving off dealership lots, while other brands have discontinued EV models and halted development of new ones.
Honda Motor Co. canceled three EVs planned for the U.S., the company said March 12. Tesla will end production of the Model S and Model X in the second quarter, and Ford killed off the F-150 Lightning in December.
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Rivian and Lucid are launching new EVs this year, as are legacy brands including Toyota and BMW, but their appeal could be limited without the tax credit, analysts said.
The Republican-led Congress voted in July to repeal the credit, which took effect in 2009. The legislation also eliminated penalties for automakers failing to meet federal fuel economy standards.
“There’s going to be a shakeout to the new reality with no federal EV incentives, which was the carrot, and no greenhouse gas penalties, which was the stick,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.
With electric vehicles on a more level playing field with gasoline and hybrid models, Brauer said, demand for full EVs is now settling at about 5 percent of the market.
Of course, some automakers fared better than others, but hardly any of them were left unscathed, as Auto News explains:
Registrations for Tesla, the top EV seller, fell 26 percent in January from a year earlier, to 32,123 vehicles, the data showed. But its share of the shrinking electric segment rose 11 percentage points to 53.7 percent in January.
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Model Y registrations fell 4.5 percent in January to 22,831 vehicles, the data showed. The Model 3 sedan dropped 62 percent to 5,269, and the Cybertruck slipped 48 percent to 1,458 pickups.
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Cadillac, at No. 2 among EV makers, grew its registrations by 8.1 percent in January to 3,189 with its expanded portfolio. The Vistiq three-row crossover had 737 registrations versus none a year earlier. The Lyriq midsize crossover fell 47 percent to 1,040 registrations.
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No. 3 Hyundai’s registrations fell 23 percent to 3,027 in January. Its bestselling model, the Ioniq 5 crossover, slid 22 percent to 2,101 vehicles. The Ioniq 9 crossover, which was not on sale in January last year, had 547 registrations.
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Ford was No. 4 among EV makers, with registrations down 67 percent in January to 2,772 vehicles, S&P Global Mobility said. The Mustang Mach-E crossover, its most popular EV, fell 63 percent to 1,762 vehicles.
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Chevrolet rounded out the top five. Its EV registrations fell 55 percent in January to 2,658 vehicles, the data showed, and its market share declined 1.4 percentage points to 4.4 percent.
Even though these companies were in the top five, the fact almost all of them saw double-digit percentage drops is incredibly alarming.
There were plenty of other notable losers during the month, as well. Rivian’s registrations dropped 25% to 2,232 units. BMW, Kia and GMC saw drops of 60%, 58% and 315 respectively. Honda also saw a massive 85% drop to just 658 Prologue registrations in the month. We also can’t look away from Volkswagen, which saw a 90% drop, Mercedes-Benz with an 84% drop, Audi with an 82% drop, Polestar with a 34% drop and Nissan with an 88% drop.
One bright spot — I guess — was Maserati. It enjoyed a 140% rise in EV registrations in January… to a whopping 12 vehicles.
