California’s been leading the charge for electric vehicles so it should come as no surprise the top two selling vehicles in the Golden State in 2022 were EVs, specifically Teslas. The Model Y and Model 3 were Nos. 1 and 2.
An EV leading the pack in California shouldn’t be all that big of a surprise, but given the contentious times Tesla’s had there recently, including moving its headquarters from there to Texas, the company’s numbers held strong.
Nationally, EV sales jumped significantly in 2022, accounting for more than 5% of all new vehicles, and early statistics show that number has risen to 8.4% in spite of troubles with battery materials and other supply chain issues.
By the numbers
It should be noted that while Californians love their Teslas, they love Toyota even more, according to figures released by the California New Car Dealers Association. It was the market share leader in the state, accounting for 17.3 percent. Tesla is second at 11.2% with Ford, Hond and Chevrolet rounding out the top five.
Tesla, Genesis, Cadillac, Mercedes, and Kia saw increased new vehicle registrations in California year over year, while all other brands saw declines.
The Tesla Model Y was the top-selling light truck in 2022, with 87,257 registrations (7.6 percent of the market share). Second place: the Toyota RAV4, with 59,794 units sold. The Ford F-Series placed third and was the top-selling full-size pickup truck at 40,232 registrations. The top-selling compact/mid-size pickup truck in California was the Toyota Tacoma, holding 46.2 percent of the share.
The top-selling passenger car model in the state is the Tesla Model 3 with 78,934 registrations, the Toyota Camry came in second with 55,967 registrations (capturing 10.2 percent), followed by the Toyota Corolla at 39,865 registrations.
Overall, EVs saw an increase in market share of 17.1% and sales of battery-electric vehicles jumped 50% compared to 2021. Notably, the hybrid market share also continues to steadily grow, despite overall declining sales.
Other interesting figures
Year-to-date, new vehicle sales in California dipped further than nationwide numbers, at 10.2 percent, according to the organization’s report. Overall, U.S. new vehicle sales dropped 7.9% in 2022.
Year over year, luxury and sports cars and the luxury car market shares increased by 3%, taking these points from the small car market in California. Overall, for 2022, the California hybrid/EV market share held at 31.1 percent.
