According to reports, Tesla's share of electric vehicle sales in California has dropped significantly in 2023, and competitors have begun to weaken Tesla's dominant position in the California electric vehicle market. According to a report released by the California New Car Dealers Association on January 29, in 2023,Tesla sales accounted for 60.5% of California’s electric vehicle sales, down 10.5 percentage points from 71% in 2022.
The report pointed out that this partly reflects the overall growth rate of the electric vehicle market, as companies continue to launch new electric models. Tesla's sales in California still increased by nearly 25% last year, but sales of electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other brands increased even more year-on-year, allowing them to eat into Tesla's market share.
Overall, about one in five cars sold in California last year was electric, making it the leading EV market in the United States. Across all vehicle models, the Tesla Model 3 outsold every other passenger car (including gasoline-powered cars) in the state, while the Model Y outsold every other light truck.
According to data from the California New Car Dealers Association, after the Model 3, Toyota's Camry and Honda's Civic are the most popular passenger cars in California, while the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V are the second and third best-selling light trucks in the state.
Sales of internal combustion engine vehicles have been declining in California, a trend that remained evident last year. 2023,Gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles accounted for 63.9% of total new vehicle sales in the state, down 7.7 percentage points from 2022.