Public Policy Atlas estimates that Americans will buy more than 1 million electric vehicles per year for the first time in 2023. Despite slowing growth, 2023 will be a record year for electric vehicles in the United States.
Sales charts show automakers delivered 136,000 new electric vehicles in September, up 67% from a year earlier. Sales were boosted by Tesla, which delivered nearly 59,000 vehicles to customers. Overall, battery-powered vehicles have captured more than 11% of the country's auto market share.
As a result, Public Policy Atlas projects that between 1.3 and 1.4 million electric vehicles will be sold by the end of the year. This will allow electric vehicles to occupy about 9% of the market.
As EV market growth slows and production increases, more EVs are piling up in dealer warehouses. This surplus means that buyers can now expect discounts. However, it's important to note that on average, electric vehicles still cost $3,826 more than internal combustion engine vehicles.
Previous research suggests that while electric vehicles are becoming more affordable due to lower prices and incentives such as tax breaks, pricing remains a major barrier to wider adoption.
This may help explain why the US continues to lag behind some of the most active EV markets, such as China, Germany and Norway. In these countries, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids accounted for 33%, 35% and a whopping 90% of sales in the first half of the year, respectively.