Tesla sold one out of every 8 cars in California in 2023, 21.4% EV share
California hit a new record last year with 21.4% of new cars being all-electric, and once again Tesla led the pack with the two best-selling cars in the state, the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3. But Toyota narrowly maintained its leadership as the top-selling brand in the state, with Tesla nipping at its heels.
The data was released yesterday by the California New Car Dealer’s Association (CNCDA) in their quarterly Auto Outlook. This was the Q4 and full-year report, reflecting on trends in auto sales for the full year in the state that leads the US in EV sales.
Compared to a national market share of 7.5%, EVs commanded 21.4% of sales in California. But just a couple years ago, California was down at ~7% of new EV sales, while the rest of the country was at ~2% – so we like to check in on CNCDA’s data every quarter to get a look at where the trends for the rest of the country might be going soon.
But California’s share of nationwide BEV registrations was down. Not long ago, California accounted for more than half of the EVs in the United States, but in 2023 California accounted for 33.8% of US BEV sales. This means that the rest of the country is picking up pace in EV sales, and that EVs are no longer the sole purview of California. This is an expected trend, but a welcome one – we don’t need California to keep hogging all the health benefits of EVs.
Leading the pack, as expected, were Tesla’s vehicles. The Model Y and Model 3 both outsold the competition by a wide margin – with Model 3 holding a 15.3% share in passenger cars (a 61% lead over the Toyota Camry, which had previously been the best-seller in California for decades) and Model Y holding a 10.8% share in light trucks, more than double its highest challenger, the RAV4, with a 4.7% share.
However, since Tesla only has a few models and Toyota has many, Toyota still maintained the crown for most sales in California. Toyota had a 15.7% market share for the whole year, and Tesla had a 13% market share, with Honda in third place at 9.7%.
13% means that one out of every 8 vehicles sold in California last year was a Tesla – from a company in just its 15th year of selling cars anywhere. Earlier in the year, it even looked like Tesla might be able to beat Toyota in California, as Tesla did outsell Toyota in Q2, but Toyota took back the crown in Q3 and maintained it in Q4.
One particularly interesting graph in the report is the share of alternative powertrain vehicles by type of dealership – Direct or Franchised. In this case, “Direct” refers to dealerships owned by the automaker in question, the vast majority of these sales coming from Tesla.
But in the chart we can see an increasing number of BEVs being sold by franchised dealers, as other manufacturers have finally gotten their BEV programs off the ground and are now selling a variety of vehicles, many of which only hit the market in the last model year or two. A majority of BEVs were still sold direct, but franchised dealer sales are catching up.
Between BEVs, PHEVs, and FCEVs, a full quarter of vehicles could access some sort of dedicated non-combustive energy source. Adding hybrids into the mix (you know, the cars that Toyota loves to pretend are electric, even though they aren’t), 35.9% of vehicles had an electric motor in them.
This was on the back of a tick down in EV share quarter over quarter, from 22.3% to 21.1%, and a tick up in hybrid share, from 11.7% to 13.3%. Plug-in hybrid share held roughly steady at 3.6%, up from 3.4%. Plug-in hybrids were buoyed by the exceptional popularity of the Jeep Wrangler PHEV, which is the 4th-best-selling car in the state with a plug on it, behind the two Teslas and the outgoing Chevy Bolt. The Wrangler PHEV outsold the RAV4 Prime almost two to one.
Tesla maintained its position as one of the companies with the best sales growth over the course of the year, up 24.6% from the previous year. Though this level of growth was lower than it has been in the past. With Tesla already being well established in California, it’s inevitable that growth percentages will slow down over time – or perhaps California, moreso than other states, is getting tired of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s nonsense.
Tesla’s share of California’s BEV market dropped from 71% to 60.5%, another expected result of other vehicles entering the market. This was still higher than Tesla’s share of the overall US EV market, which stood at around 55% for the year.
But the winner in terms of sales growth was Rivian, which saw a 142.7% increase year over year. Big numbers like this are to be expected out of a new company with new models, but Rivian’s ramp up in production and sales this year was impressive nonetheless, with the company even raising (and then beating) production guidance during a year when media spent a lot of time falsely claiming that EV sales were down.
And on that point – in 2022, EVs made up 16.4% of the EV market in California, whereas in 2023 they made up 21.4%. That certainly looks like an increase to me, not a decrease. Meanwhile, one media narrative we haven’t heard much of is how ICE car sales actually are not growing. While auto sales as a whole were up in California by 11.9% in 2023, that’s because 190k more “electrified” vehicles (BEV/PHEV/HEV) were sold in 2023 than 2022, for a 2023 total of ~638k, whereas sales of pure combustion vehicles were flat at ~1.1 million. So in a year where the auto industry saw a significant recovery, most of that recovery, at least in California, was led by rising electric vehicle sales.
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $1.2 billion in financing to replace Puerto Rico’s fossil fuel plants with solar and battery storage through 2032.
The DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced two conditional commitments and one loan closing to power producers in Puerto Rico. Each supports a project contracted with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The announcements include:
- The closing of a $584.5 million loan guarantee to subsidiaries of Convergent Energy to finance a 100 MW solar farm with a 55 MW (55 MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) in the municipality of Coamo and BESS installations in the municipalities of Caguas (25MW/100MWh), Peñuelas (100MW/400MWh), and Ponce (up to 100MW/400MWh)
- A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $133.6 million to a subsidiary of Infinigen for a 32.1 MW solar farm with an integrated 14.45 MW (4.76 MWh) BESS, and a co-located standalone 50 MW (200 MWh) BESS expansion in the municipality of Yabucoa
- A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $489.4 million to a subsidiary of Pattern Energy for three stand-alone BESS in the municipalities of Arecibo (50 MW/200 MWh), and Santa Isabel (50 MW /200 MWh and 80 MW/320 MW), and a 70 MW solar farm with an integrated BESS in the municipality of Arecibo.
If all are finalized, these projects would more than double LPO’s support for utility-scale solar generation and battery energy storage in Puerto Rico.
LPO provides low-cost financing and a rigorous due diligence process, making it a valuable resource for Puerto Rico as it works to rebuild an affordable, reliable, and clean energy system. As a result of reliance on imported fuel, the persistent threat of tropical storms, and underinvested infrastructure, Puerto Ricans today face average energy costs that are twice the US average – all while consuming only one-quarter of the energy of the US per capita.
LPO’s initial loan to a power producer in Puerto Rico, Project Marahu, closed in October 2024, and when complete will add more than 200 MW of solar and up to 285 MW of stand-alone energy storage to Puerto Rico’s grid.
Through its September 2023 partial loan guarantee to Project Hestia, LPO also supports virtual power plant (VPP)-ready rooftop solar and battery storage installations in Puerto Rico. As a nationwide project, Hestia’s sponsor is committed to at least 20% of installations under Project Hestia going to homeowners in Puerto Rico.
As part of its procurement plan, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority seeks to install 1,500 MW of battery storage and requires a minimum capacity of storage to be co-located with each utility-scale solar project. Energy storage systems currently online in Puerto Rico are being dispatched every day.
When including Marahu, LPO’s closed and conditionally committed financing supports over 100% of the capacity Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority aimed to procure under its initial request for energy storage project proposals, the first of six.
Read more: Cleantech investments to top fossil fuels for the first time in 2025
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Chevy just introduced new deals on the Equinox and Blazer EV models to make them even more affordable. With 0% interest and a new trade-in bonus, Chevy is offering over $5,000 in savings.
Chevy adds new Equinox and Blazer EV deals in January
Although the Chevy Equinox EV is already “the most affordable” EV in its class with over 315 miles range, it’s getting even cheaper.
Earlier this week, Chevy launched new deals on the 2024 Equinox and Blazer EV models. According to a note sent to dealers, viewed by CarsDirect, the electric SUVs are now available with 0% APR financing for 60 months. You can also choose from 0.9% AP for 72 months and 2.9% APR for 84 months.
This marks the best financing offer on Chevy’s newest EVs to date. The previous best rates were 0.9% APR for 60 months, 3.9% for 72 months, and 5.9% for the longer 84-month option.
On a 7-year $45,000 loan, online auto research firm CarsDirect estimates the new deals amount to around a $5,200 price cut. The lower APR rates are already offered on the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup.
In addition, Chevy is offering a trade-in bonus of up to $3,000 on the Silverado EV and $1,000 on the electric Equinox and Blazer models. If you choose to lease, the bonus is cut in half: $1,500 for the Silverado and $500 for the electric SUVs.
Chevy’s new EV deals started on January 14 and run through March 3, 2025. The deals come as rivals like Hyundai and Ford recently launched new EV promotions.
On Thursday, Hyundai launched a new promo on the upgraded 2025 IONIQ 5, which includes monthly leases as low as $199 and a free ChargePoint home EV charger (or $400 charging credit). Meanwhile, Ford extended its “Power Promise” program earlier this month, which also includes a free home charger, among several other benefits.
The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV started at $41,900 with up to 315 miles range. Prices for the electric Chevy Blazer start at $43,690 with up to 279 miles range.
If you are ready to try out Chevy’s new electric SUVs for yourself, we’ve got you covered. You can use our links below to view offers on the Chevy Equinox, Silverado, and Blazer EV models near you.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss non-Tesla EVs getting Supercharger access, Cybertruck sales in the spotlight, Rivian getting some money from Biden, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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