Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

January 7, the latest report released by market research company Motor Intelligence shows that despite the contraction of the overall US car market in 2022, electric vehicle sales soared by 2/3. At the same time, traditional carmakers have launched a large number of hybrid models, which has helped narrow the lead of electric car giant Tesla.

Carmakers sold 807180 electric vehicles in the US last year, accounting for 5.8 per cent of total car sales, up from 3.2 per cent in 2021, according to Tu Yuan PexelsMotor Intelligence. By contrast, total US car sales fell 8 per cent in 2022 from a year earlier.

Tesla continues to dominate the US electric car market, accounting for 65 per cent of total sales last year, according to Motor Intelligence estimates. But as traditional carmakers introduce more electric models, that is down from 72 per cent in 2021.

Ford Motor Company's electric vehicle sales jumped to second place, accounting for 7.6 per cent of the US electric vehicle market, according to Motor Intelligence. Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia ranked third with a 7.1 per cent market share after launching the popular new electric SUV.

GM's position in the electric car market has declined after it stopped selling its best-selling Chevrolet Bolt electric car to fix battery problems that could cause a fire. Since returning to the market, Chevrolet Bolt's sales have rebounded. Motor Intelligence found that Volkswagen and Nissan also lost share of the U. S. electric car market.

The change in the electric vehicle market reflects the trend of the auto industry as a whole: although electric vehicles still account for only a small part of the overall car market, they are already seen by industry executives as a huge growth opportunity. Companies that can bring a large number of attractive electric cars to market will have an opportunity to attract early adopters who have already shown a willingness to switch to new brands, executives and analysts say.

Jim Farley, Ford's chief executive, said in an interview last year that he saw an opportunity to turn the Fmur150 lightning pickup into a well-known brand in the minds of early adopters of electric cars. The Fmur150 Lightning pickup truck was launched in May 2022. "people's preference for electric pickup brands has not yet been formed," Farley said of the emerging electric pickup market. "if we can succeed, it means we have a first-mover advantage."

Ford is currently the only car company that sells electric pickups in large quantities, competing with startup Riyan Automotive. Riyan's R1T pickup trucks, R1s SUV and commercial vehicles accounted for 2.6% of u.s. electric vehicle sales last year, delivering a total of 20332 vehicles, according to the data.

Despite strong sales growth in recent years, the electric car industry encountered many challenges last year. Higher prices for lithium and other battery materials have prompted carmakers to raise prices, which could hurt demand. The average price of electric cars in the United States last summer was about $66000, up from about $51000 in 2021, according to JD Power, a market research and consulting firm.

Tesla offered an unusually high ($7500) subsidy to some US buyers last month, but that has heightened investor concerns about a slowdown in demand. Analysts at Bernstein Research believe that Tesla's delivery waiting time in the US and China is shrinking, which may be a sign of slowing demand. Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment.

On January 2, Tesla reported that global car deliveries in 2022 were lower than the company and Wall Street had expected. Tesla failed to meet the expected delivery target in 2022, and deliveries increased by only 40 per cent last year, rather than the expected 50 per cent. Tesla delivered 1.31 million cars in 2022, below the 1.4 million needed to meet the 50 per cent growth target.

At the same time, analysts say new clean energy regulations passed last year and implemented in phases could shake up the competition for electric vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group, for example, could benefit from the US federal guidelines released this week because it allows rental vehicles to receive a $7500 commercial vehicle tax credit, even if they are assembled outside North America. Analysts say the rule could allow consumers who rent Hyundai cars imported from South Korea to be eligible for subsidies.

Analysts say some aspects of the proposed policy could hurt Ford and Tesla. However, the US government will finalise the final version of the rules this spring, classifying the Mustang Mach-E and some Model Y models as cars rather than SUV, meaning small cars starting at less than $55000 and SUV starting at less than $80,000 will continue to be eligible for a tax credit.

At present, automakers are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build battery factories and upgrade them to produce more electric vehicles. Their goal is to meet the growing consumer demand for electric vehicles. This demand is even more than they had expected.

According to JD Power, 53 electric vehicles will be on the market or are planned to go on sale this year, a fraction of the 625 different models sold in the US in 2022. A survey of more than 2000 car buyers conducted by JD Power at the end of 2022 found that only 30% of respondents were able to find an electric car that suits them based on price, model and other factors. "bringing electric vehicles to market is a top priority right now," said Stewart Stropp, senior director of auto retail who helped launch the investigation.

Not long ago, Rivian announced that it had barely met its production target of 25000 vehicles last year, constrained by a shortage of spare parts. Last October, General Motors also announced that it had postponed its target of selling 400000 electric vehicles by the end of 2023 and extended the target to mid-2024.

A few years ago, General Motors was one of the first major automakers to announce a big push for electric vehicles. But so far, the effort has not helped it gain more market share, with the company selling only 854 GMC Hummer electric pickups last year. GM's other recent entry into the US market is the Cadillac Lyriq SUV, which has sold 122 since it went into production in March last year.

GM executives pointed out that poor sales of its electric vehicles were due to battery procurement problems and slower-than-expected opening of a new battery plant in Ohio, which will operate jointly with South Korea's LG Energy Solution. Mark Reuss, GM president, said the upcoming electric car would be faster because the company had learned enough lessons.

"We will go into full production much faster than Hummer and Lyriq," Rawls told investors in November.

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