The Tesla Model Y became the best-selling luxury compact SUV in California in 2021, claiming a whopping 44% share of the segment for the year and beating Toyota’s RAV4 and Honda’s CR-V sales.
New sales data in from the US state, which is commonly quoted as the world’s fifth-largest economy, shows that EVs accounted for just under 10% of the entire auto market in the last quarter, while Tesla claimed number five spot behind Toyota, Honda, Ford and Chevrolet with 121,080 cars sold – a significant achievement considering it has just four vehicle models for sale.
Although Tesla no longer calls California home, (it has moved its HQ to Texas), it is still by far its largest market in the US. With 936,000 sales worldwide in 2021, California accounted for almost 13% of all its sales.
As in Australia, the Californian auto market has experienced a broad decline in sales amid the pandemic and supply chain challenges. Aside from a jump in the second quarter that offset shutdowns the year previous, every quarter saw a decline in sales.
But battery electric vehicle sales bucked the trend, as did hybrids and plug-in hybrids, the California New Car Dealer Association (CNCDA) noted. “Despite trends across the industry, electric vehicles continued a strong year, reaching a nearly 10% market share, up 3.3% over 2020,” it said in a report.
“Moreover, as automakers continue to offer new, alternative drivetrains to their lineups, sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrids have similarly increased their market shares, with combined alternative drive trains making up 23.4% of all auto sales in 2021.
As for the Model Y, Tesla sold 60,394 units in California in 2021, accounting for 43.8% of its segment. It also beat Toyota and Honda in the non-luxury compact SUV segment: Toyota sold 59,157 RAV4s and Honda sold 39,405 CR-Vs.
Not to be outdone, the Model 3 also continues to be a best-seller for Tesla. It sold 53,572 Model 3s, accounting for 47% of the “near-luxury” sedan segment.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.