Tesla Model Y is now the world’s best-selling car, first EV to do so
The Tesla Model Y was the world’s best-selling car in Q1 2023, marking the first time ever that an EV has achieved this feat, according to industry analyst JATO Dynamics.
Model Y sales have been growing around the world for the last few years, putting the car on the trajectory to become the world’s best-selling vehicle. The feat was first predicted even before the car came to market, as Tesla thought the car could see up to a million units of demand per year.
It was an ambitious goal at the time, with many considering it another example of an “optimistic” Tesla prediction, but last year Tesla said the Model Y was on track to become the world’s best-selling car in 2023.
Last year, the Model Y was the best-selling vehicle in Europe and California, the fourth best-selling in China despite China’s different tastes and model availability compared to the rest of the world, and was on the US top ten list but significantly behind several trucks and SUVs. These performances made it the third-best selling car worldwide.
But now, it looks like Tesla’s #1 sales prediction has come true. The Model Y has dethroned the Toyota Corolla as the world’s best-selling car in Q1 and looks like it may well maintain this position for the full year.
JATO Dynamics analyst Felipe Munoz compiled the data for Motor1, showing that the Model Y had 267,200 sales in Q1, according to data from 53 markets and projections/estimates for the rest of the world. This put it ahead of the Corolla at 256,400 sales for the same period and significantly ahead of the other top-five cars, the Hilux, Rav4, and Camry, all from Toyota.
While we don’t know if this placing will continue for the rest of the year, Model Y sales have been continually growing, whereas Corolla sales are trending slightly downward. One model is new and based on new technology, and the other is an old standard – though the current iteration of both models came out in a similar time frame, 2018 for the Corolla and 2019 for Model Y.
And given Tesla’s massive price cuts this year on Model Y, this will surely make the car accessible to more people compared to 2022.
Indeed, Model Y sales are already growing compared to last year. In 2022, Tesla had two of the top ten cars in the world, with Model Y achieving 759k sales. That gives it an average quarterly run rate of 189k, and this year’s Q1 number is a significant increase from that.
If Model Y continues at this rate or sales continue to grow at all for the rest of this year, it will exit 2023 with over 1 million sales. The only other vehicle in the world to sell 1 million units last year was the Toyota Corolla, at 1.12 million. So it might be close at year’s end, but we think it’s likely that Model Y will maintain its position.
The achievement is even more impressive given Model Y’s pricing and availability. While the Model Y does have broad availability in the world’s largest markets, the Corolla is available everywhere. JATO’s analysis combined all localizations (Corolla, Levin, Allion, Lingshang) and body styles (sedan, hatchback, wagon) of the Corolla model across the world to come up with its sales number.
And despite recent price cuts, the Model Y at ~$40k (after credits) is still significantly more expensive than a base-model Corolla at $21k. Higher prices generally restrict the addressable market, and while the total cost of ownership is lower for EVs, the Corolla can still claim a TCO advantage over the vehicle that is now beating it for market share.
Electrek’s Take
While the data has looked positive so far this year, this is the first confirmation by an industry analyst that we’ve seen of the Model Y’s position. We expected this would happen, and now it has, at least for Q1.
For those of us who have been in the electric game for a long time, we’ve had to hear a whole lot of people tell us that EVs are a fad, that traditional automakers will eventually wake up and dominate the market, that EVs are the “future” (not the present), and that the “demand isn’t there” – this quote specifically from Toyota, the company that has just been dethroned.
Well, here we are. An EV is presently the best-selling vehicle in the world. Not just in California, not just in Europe, but everywhere. Add them all up, and the EV wins.
Considering the rest of the industry’s inability (or lack of desire) to scale EV production, and Tesla’s relative inexperience at making cars, this is an incredibly impressive feat.
And it’s a mark against the rest of the industry that they didn’t see this coming. Each time Tesla entered a new segment, it devoured sales from competing vehicles in that segment – other modes’ sales went down, while Tesla’s sales went up in rough proportion. And yet, the industry continued to sit on its hands years after this was apparent. The arrogance of established industry has helped Tesla get this far – they should have followed when Tesla told them what needed to be done (instead of nine years later), but they were too prideful or too lazy to do so.
The fact is that consumers want EVs, they just haven’t been given enough options. When a well-made (non-compliance) EV comes around, it will sell, and Tesla seems like the only company interested in making them in big numbers.
It does seem like the industry is finally starting to get the message, offering more EVs, building up production capacity, and taking them seriously. But many automakers are still only dipping their toes into the water, and those automakers won’t do well in the long run. EVs are here; EVs are popular, and you need to make them now. Tesla has proven it time and time again, and now that an EV from a startup that didn’t even exist at the turn of the century is the top-selling vehicle in the entire world, maybe everyone will finally get the message.
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Executives from TravelCenters America (TA) and BP were joined by local elected officials at a ribbon cutting for the two companies’ first DC fast charging hub on I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida – the first of several such EV charging stations to come online.
Frequent road-trippers are no doubt familiar with TA’s red, white, and blue logo and probably think of the sites as safe, convenient stops in otherwise unfamiliar surroundings. The company hopes those positive associations will carry over as its customers continue to switch from gas to electric at a record pace in 2025 and beyond.
“Today marks a significant milestone in our journey to bring new forms of energy to our customers as we support their changing mobility needs, while leveraging the best of bp and TA,” explains Debi Boffa, CEO of TravelCenters of America. Boffa, however, was quick to – but TA is quick to point out that TA isn’ no’t leaving its ICE customers behind. “While this is significant, to our loyal customers and guests, rest assured TA will continue to provide the same safe and reliable fueling options it has offered for over 50 years, regardless of the type of fuel.”
The charging hub along the I-95 offers 12 DC fast charging ports offering up to 400kW of power for lickety-quick charging. While they’re at the TA, EV drivers can visit restrooms, shop at TA’s convenience store, or eat at fast food chains like Popeyes and Subway. Other TA centers offer wifi and pet-friendly amenities as well – making them ideal partners for BP as the two companies builds out their charging networks.
“As we expand our EV charging network in the US, I am thrilled to unveil our first of many hubs at TA locations,” offers Sujay Sharma, CEO of BP Pulse Americas. “These sites are strategically located across key highway corridors that provide our customers with en route charging when and where they need it most, while offering convenient amenities, like restaurants and restrooms.”
Electrek’s Take
As I type this, BP has more than 37,000 EV charging ports operational globally, and plans to have more than 100,000 in service by 2030. The company made headlines in 2022 when it announced that its EV chargers were “on the cusp” of being more profitable than its gas pumps. Three years on, it seems like that’s a done deal.
As ever, money talks.
SOURCE | IMAGES: BP.
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The new e2500-THL and TS electric Ultra Buggies from Toro offer construction and demo crews a carrying capacity of 2500 lbs. (on the TS model), six-and-a-half foot dump height (on the THL), nearly 13 cubic ft. of capacity, and hours of quiet, fume-free operation.
Despite the second Trump administration’s loosening grip on emissions regulations, the fact remains that a growing number of municipalities in both red and blue regions of the US are continuing to clamp down on noise regulations, which means that construction crews with quiet running electric equipment will be able to get jobs that crews stubbornly holding on to diesel and gas won’t. Toro absolutely gets it, which is why its e2500-THL and TS Ultra Buggy line will be welcomed by smart crews with open arms.
For their open-mindedness, those crews will be rewarded with machines powered by 7 kWh’s worth of Toro HyperCell lithium-ion battery. That’s good enough for up to eight hours of continuous operation, according to Toro – enough for two typical working shifts.
And, thanks to the Toro Ultra Buggies’ narrow, 31.5″ width, they can easily navigate man doors on inside jobs, as well, making them ideal for indoor demolition and construction jobs. A zero-turn radius and auto-return dump mechanism that ensures the tub automatically returns to the proper resting position make things easy for the operator, too.
Toro says that each of its small (for Toro) e2500 Ultra Buggy units can replace as many as five wheelbarrows on a given job site. Pricing is expected to start at about $32,000.
Electrek’s Take
Electric equipment makes job sites cleaner, quieter, and safer than they are under diesel or gas power – and as more municipal and private sector RFPs begin to enforce ZEV requirements and quiet hours, more and more viable electric alternatives to ICE power will start to show up on more and more job sites (regardless of who is in the White House).
SOURCE | IMAGES: Toro, via Construction Equipment.
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GM has deployed three of its HYDROTEC hydrogen gensets to the Los Angeles area as a way to help generate power for EV drivers and emergency vehicles recovering from the devastating effects of the recent wildfires.
GM is providing a number of mobile charging solutions to Californians recovering from the recent wildfires – including a trio of Yoshi Mobility propane chargers capable of DC fast charging two EVs at once, a single biofuel powered mobile charging station from InCharge capable of DC fast charging five EVs, and three more of its in-house HYDROTEC hydrogen powered gensets.
“GM is extending targeted local support to our customers and employees who have been impacted by the California wildfires,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president global commercial growth strategies and operations. “We’re finding ways to help get people back on the road and using our resources to make a difference in the recovery in the weeks and months to come.”
The mobile charging station rollout is part of a broader response to the fires from GM that includes “planned” philanthropic contributions to nonprofits serving affected communities, employee giving campaigns to benefit the American Red Cross Los Angeles region and the California Fire Foundation, and a complimentary subscription to Crisis Assist Services, which enables customers with OnStar-equipped vehicles to get information about the fires, receive routing guidance, and access immediate emergency assistance from an OnStar advisor.
GM also says it’s providing customers with damaged or destroyed GM vehicles assistance toward the purchase or lease of a new GM vehicle, subject to certain terms and conditions, which may include certain qualifications and restrictions. The company will also help cover collision repair deductible costs for damage to GM vehicles incurred from the wildfires – again, subject to certain qualifications and restrictions.
Electrek’s Take
While it’s certainly commendable for GM to take steps in an effort to support wildfire victims, it feels like a company that made more than $19 billion in gross profits in 2023 (and over $20 billion in 2022; 2024 numbers aren’t out yet – but the company did well enough to spend more than $6 billion buying back its own stock) could have done better than announcing “planned” donations and asking its employees to pony up. By my math, GM shareholders could have given each of the 163,000 global employees the company had in 2023 a $36,000 one-time bonus in lieu of those stock buybacks.
That said, how many companies are doing nothing at all? Good on GM for trying, then – here’s hoping others step up, too.
SOURCE | IMAGES: General Motors.
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