The EV market has made tremendous strides throughout the course of 2020. New electric offerings have hit showrooms and new EV brands have emerged with plans to launch all-electric models in the coming year. While EVs have made major progress, they weren’t able to escape the financial impact of COVID-19.
Like the rest of the auto industry, sales numbers for EVs during the first half of the year didn’t fare particularly well. The only company carrying any sort of momentum into the second half of the year is Tesla. According to data collected by CleanTechnica, Tesla made up 19 percent of the global plugin vehicle market in the first half of 2020 while Volkswagen Group made up 13 percent of the market.
The five leaders from CleanTechnica’s data made up 55 percent of the total EV market.
Tesla’s success has been culminated through stringing together four consecutive profitable quarters and continuously growing its stock. The company is kicking off a five-for-one stock split at the end of August to make stocks more affordable for shareholders. The Tesla Model 3 has dominated the EV market in the first half, outselling all of its competitors combined. Despite a number of manufacturers withholding their sales to the public, The Model 3 is way out front with an estimated 38,214 purchases during the first half. For comparison, the closest non-Tesla model was the Chevy Bolt with 8,370 sales. While the Model 3 has held its top position, its sales numbers are still considerably lower than the first half of 2019 when they sold nearly 69,000.
The Impact and Implications Moving Forward
The major question the EV market will have to answer moving forward is will it start to make a recovery as the U.S. economy begins its steady rebound. Major Automakers certainly hope that the market will bounce back as many prepare for massive EV productions.
Ford is preparing to launch its Mustang Mach E. The Mach E is set to compete directly with the Tesla Model Y and give Ford a permanent foothold in the EV market.
GM announced the launch of the Cadillac LYRIQ, an all-electric luxury SUV. GM is feeling pressure from Wall Street to spin off its electric models into a new brand to better position itself to compete with Tesla.
It’s uncertain which way the EV market is headed moving into the second half of 2020 and into the beginning of 2021. One factor that might be working against the growth of electric cars is the price of gasoline. According to AAA gas prices are hovering around $2.17 per gallon, up 40 cents from April’s numbers but still about 40 cents lower than last year’s average.
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