The growth of electric vehicle sales may not have been as fast as some anticipated, but there is still a strong demand for them, making 2023 the most successful year for EVs in the U.S. so far. Despite some skepticism, the automotive industry is embracing electric vehicles, and recent research conducted by iSeeCars demonstrates that car dealers are also embracing this trend.
The research revealed that the number of non-Tesla car dealers selling EVs has more than tripled since November 2020, resulting in the increase of dealers selling EVs from 16.5 percent to 55.1 percent within three years.
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iSeeCars also noted that larger dealers and dealer groups were more likely to sell EVs due to the associated costs. However, the outlook is positive, as non-Tesla EVs have increased their market share by an impressive 800 percent.
“About half of all new electric vehicle sales in the U.S. aren’t Teslas today,” said iSeeCars’ senior analyst Karl Brauer. “With so many traditional car companies entering the EV space in the past three years, Tesla’s drop in market share was inevitable. It’s likely Tesla’s share will continue to decrease, despite the company’s recently launched Cybertruck.”
Despite having one of the lowest percentages of new car dealers selling EVs, Montana experienced a significant increase in the number of dealers between 2020 and 2023, growing from 2.8 percent to more than 23 percent.
In some cases, metropolitan areas have defied the overall trends of their states, with cities like Saint Louis, MO, Birmingham, AL, and Columbus, OH seeing considerable growth in the number of new EV dealers despite their states’ slower pace.
While the growth is notable, especially in certain states, continued success will require collaboration between the government, industry, and consumers. Some states do not offer local EV credits, while others have extensive tax and financial incentives in place to encourage buyers to make the switch. States like Montana do not have programs to provide tax credits and other incentives, leaving buyers to rely on the $7,500 federal credit. On the contrary, California offers a substantial credit, and several municipalities have additional programs.