Automakers report strong EV sales in second quarter
Three months ago, electric vehicle sales growth in the United States seemed to be slowing down, and some market analysts were speculating that it was the beginning of a major downturn in EV demand. Sales figures from the second quarter are now in, and the pessimists will be eating crow. Lackluster EV sales in the first quarter appear to have been little more than a speed bump. Ford, General Motors, and Toyota are all reporting a dramatic surge in EV sales as growing concerns about climate change continue to drive U.S. consumers away from internal combustion vehicles.
A July 3rd press release from Ford’s newsroom illustrates the scope of the second quarter surge. Ford leads all full-line automakers in U.S. EV sales, and the progressive company reported that EV sales “increased 61 percent in the second quarter with 23,957 sold and are up 72 percent for the year. With 44,180 total EVs sold for the first half of the year, Ford brand electric vehicles trail only Tesla.” Ford is proud to call its F-150 Lightning “America’s No. 1 selling electric truck,” and has sold 15,645 through June of this year. Lightning sales in the second quarter rose to 7,902, “up 77 percent from a year ago.” Mustang Mach-E sales are “up 58 percent through the first half of the year.” Ford’s E-Transit is the top selling U.S. electric van, and the 6,301 sold during the first half of 2024 were “more than double the amount sold during the first half of 2023.”
Ford is also rightfully proud of its outstanding hybrid pickups, which helped the automaker increase its second quarter hybrid sales to 53,822, a 56% increase. The extraordinary Maverick Hybrid has a stellar combined MPG rating of 37 and is currently the top selling U.S. hybrid pickup. Ford sold a whopping 40,420 during the first half of this year. The frugal F-150 Hybrid was almost as popular as the Maverick, racking up first half sales of 33,674, an increase of 38 percent.
General Motors is right behind Ford in total U.S. EV sales and reported similar growth during the second quarter. According to their July 2nd press release, GM sold 38,355 EVs during the first half of 2024, with 21,930 delivered during the second quarter. The Q2 sales figure represents a 34 percent increase over first quarter deliveries and a year-over-year increase of 40 percent. GM achieved its impressive EV sales without much help from its popular Chevy Bolt models, which were discontinued at the beginning of 2024.The automaker plans to offer “10 EV nameplates by year-end.”
Toyota Motor Corporation offers two fully electric models, both of which enjoyed skyrocketing demand during the second quarter. According to Toyota, sales of its bZ4X grew to 7,571, almost 4 times as high as the 1,897 sold during the first quarter. The year-to-date sales figure of 9,468 represents a 159% increase over the 3,659 sold during the first half of 2023. Growing demand for the Lexus RZ was equally astounding, with Q1 to Q2 sales increasing from 1,603 to 4,036 and year-to-date totals increasing from 1,117 in 2023 to 5,639 in 2024. Toyota has consistently delivered one of the cleanest fleets in the U.S. that features a broad selection of very efficient hybrids, and its first half electrified vehicle sales soared to 454,197, up 67.9% from the first half of 2023.
The extraordinary upswing in EV sales during the second quarter of 2024 is consistent with an encouraging long-term trend. A wide variety of green vehicles are rapidly gaining market share, and fully electric vehicles are doing remarkably well.