Tesla Sales Fall 12% In California Yet Still Outperform Rivals | Carscoops

      While Tesla's market share has decreased, most competitors have expanded their presence in the state's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) market.

      7 hours ago

      by Brad Anderson

      Last year, Tesla sold 203,221 vehicles in California, down from 230,010 in 2023.

      This sales decline caused Tesla’s market share to fall from 60.1% to 52.5%.

      The Model Y remained California’s top-selling vehicle, delivering twice as many units as the RAV4.

      For years, Tesla was undoubtedly the leading player in California’s expanding electric vehicle market, dominating sales, outpacing competitors, and becoming synonymous with EVs in the state. However, the year 2024 presented a slightly different scenario. Despite still leading significantly, Tesla experienced a 12% drop in sales over the year, even as total EV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales increased. This marks five consecutive quarters of decline for Tesla in its home market.

      In the previous year, a total of 203,221 new Tesla vehicles were sold in California, an 11.6% decrease from the 230,010 units sold in 2023. This decline resulted in Tesla’s share of the state’s ZEV market dropping from 60.1% to 52.5%, a reduction of 7.6%. In contrast, nearly all major automakers managed to grow their share of the EV market.

      The California New Car Dealers Association noted this trend, commenting, “Things aren’t looking so golden for EV automaker Tesla in the Golden State. Tesla’s dominance in the electric vehicle market continues to weaken as the brand reported its fifth consecutive quarterly registration decline.”

      California: Top 25 Selling BEV and PHEV Models in 2024

      Tesla Still Reigns Supreme

      Despite the decrease in sales, Tesla continues to be a dominant player in California’s ZEV market. Although its market share has slipped, it still represents more than half of all ZEV sales. Its nearest competitor, Hyundai, increased its market share from 4.4% to 5.9% with 22,718 units sold, overtaking Chevrolet, whose share dropped from 5% to 3.8% with 14,553 units sold. Chevrolet fell to sixth place, being surpassed by luxury brands like BMW (18,664 units, up 29%) and Mercedes (17,369 units, up 10.5%).

      Kia enjoyed a 74.1% increase in ZEV sales, reaching 13,943 units, while Cadillac experienced a remarkable 296.9% rise—mainly due to the Lyriq—reaching 5,235 units. Conversely, Volkswagen saw a significant downturn, with sales plummeting 55.6% to 5,440 deliveries.

      The Tesla Model Y remained California’s best-selling EV last year, registering 128,923 units. This placed it well ahead of the Tesla Model 3, which had 53,056 registrations, and the nearest competitor, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, with 16,879 units sold.

      The Model Y was also the top-selling car last year across all powertrains. The Toyota RAV4 ranked second, with 65,041 registrations for the year, slightly surpassing the Toyota Camry with 55,027 sales and the Honda Civic with 53,049 units, just six fewer than the Tesla Model 3.

      ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE SALES CALIFORNIA