For the first time, Tesla lost its grip on its more-than-50 percent domination of the US electric vehicle market, as other carmakers like Ford, Kia, and BMW bang their way into electric car sales. This change indicates rising competition in the EV market.

The newest report from Cox Automotive says Tesla now accounts for less than half of the U.S. EV market, which is a huge shift as more and more car companies are introducing new electric models.

It noted that Tesla’s share of the US EV market fell to 49.7% from higher numbers in previous years, with other auto manufacturers like Ford and Kia bringing out more electric vehicles that catch buyers’ attention lately.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, an auto industry researcher, said, “Even though Tesla sales are down, with their share of EVs now below 50 percent for the first time, competition among electric cars is getting only stronger.”

Going back to 2019, Tesla at one point had as much as 82.5 percent of the market. It has shown a steady decline since then, with the largest chunk coming in the recent ones, starting from late 2021—77.5 percent from Tesla’s share. By Q2 2023, it slid to 50.2 percent.

Tesla lost market share at the same time as dropping deliveries in the second quarter of this year. Tesla reported delivering 443,956 vehicles during that time, an increase from what was delivered in the first quarter of the year but less than the previous year’s second quarter.

With Tesla now holding almost half the market, Cox found that Ford—inflated by its Mustang Mach-E electric car, its plug-in hybrid Lightning pickup trucks, and E-Transit vans—comes in second place with 7.2 percent. Its sister brand Kia is high up in the top five EV sellers, as well as BMW.

More detail has been provided on which car brands have been on a steepest ascent in the second quarter: Cadillac, a brand from General Motors, rose by over 440% in the number of EVs sold. The LYRIQ SUV, although midsize and electric, made a slow start but has since picked up the pace on sale this year.

Another carmaker, Toyota, posted more than 7,000-unit growth in sales of its electric SUV bZ4X in the second quarter, from just 2,000 a year ago, though there were discounts on the car.

“As competition grows more, prices begin to go down. That really means more people are purchasing electric cars. In that environment, any car maker who can offer good cars at good prices will perform well,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty said.

It means cars from this stable, including an affordable EV6 crossover and large EV9 sport utility vehicle from Ford, and a subcompact from Kia called Niro, find more buyers because of their lower price.
In a nutshell, Tesla’s position is in very palpable flux within the US electric car market as rivals chalk more electric vehicles. While Tesla’s share has fallen below 50%, competition among electric cars has been ratcheted up, hence increase in their affordability and offering buyers so many options.