U.S. electric vehicle sales are setting new records, and their share of new car sales is expected to reach a new high this quarter. However, judging from dealer inventories, there appears to be an oversupply problem with electric vehicles. Cox Automotive updated its U.S. car sales forecast last week, estimating that new car sales this year will be about 15.4 million vehicles, higher than the 14.2 million vehicles in 2022, but not as good as the nearly 17 million vehicles before the epidemic. Among them, the sales volume of electric vehicles this quarter is estimated to be about 300,000 units, an annual increase of 48%, accounting for 8% of new car sales, setting a record high.
However. The current inventory days of electric vehicle dealers is about 97 days, which is significantly higher than the average of 57 days for traditional vehicles, indicating that the entire industry has produced too many electric vehicles.
As of August this year, Ford's (F-US) US electric vehicle sales increased by 6% year-on-year, while Tesla's (TSLA-US) electric vehicle sales in the first half of the year increased by 30% compared with the same period last year. Production delays are one reason for Ford's growth, but demand for electric vehicles is a more compelling issue.
Tesla’s electric vehicle market share is far ahead of other car manufacturers. (Photo: MarketWatch)
Cox Automotive estimates that electric vehicle sales will account for 23% of all new car sales in California and 3% in Michigan and Ohio (where Ford and General Motors (GM-US) are headquartered) in the third quarter.
Both car manufacturers have a large number of local assembly plants and employees, but locals are not eager to buy electric vehicles because cold weather may reduce the range of electric vehicles by 20%-25%. The solution is to provide cabin air conditioning and heating while the car is charging.