Tesla's share of US electric car market falls below 50%

Tesla's once-commanding share of the market for electric vehicles in the United States slipped below 50% in the second quarter of the year even as sales of battery-powered cars surged to a record, according to new estimates published Tuesday by a research firm.

Tesla accounted for 49.7% of electric vehicle sales from April through June, down from 59.3% a year earlier, as the company led by Elon Musk lost ground to General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Hyundai and Kia, said research firm Cox Automotive. It was the first time the company's market share fell below 50% in a quarter, according to Cox. The firm, a leading auto industry researcher, estimates market share based on registrations, company reports and other data.

The numbers are the latest sign that Tesla is losing its dominance in a market it in effect created in 2012 when it introduced the Model S sedan. Before that car, very few electric vehicles were sold in the United States.


Overall, U.S. electric vehicle sales climbed 11.3% from a year earlier, suggesting that consumer demand for the technology remains healthy even if sales are no longer growing at more than 40% a year as they were last year. Americans bought or leased more than 330,000 electric cars and light trucks during the quarter, accounting for 8% of all new cars sold or leased in the three-month period. A year earlier, electric vehicles accounted for 7.2% of the market, Cox said.

A few years ago, Tesla didn't have many competitors, and pretty much no other company could match its cars' driving range on a full charge or acceleration. But established carmakers have been introducing electric vehicles that can travel 300 miles or more, equaling and sometimes exceeding the capabilities of Tesla's cars.

Tesla said last week that its global sales fell 4.8%, to around 444,000, in the second quarter from the period a year ago. The company does not break out its sales by country, but Cox estimates that Tesla's U.S. sales fell 6.3% in the second quarter, to 175,000 cars.