149,500 plug-in vehicles were delivered in the first half of 2019 in the US, an increase of 23% compared to H1 of 2018. 72% were pure electric (BEV) and 28% were plug-in hybrids.
The plug-in share of the total light vehicle market was 1.8% for the 1st half of 2019, compared to 1.4 % in H1 of 2018.
Despite the sufficiently lamented Q1 result, Tesla represented 57% of all plug-in deliveries in the US, counting BEVs only, Tesla’s share was 78%. Four out of five Tesla sales in US were for the Model-3, which remains the best-selling plug-in, worldwide.
The Model-3 did not inspire the market towards more plug-in sales in general. Its qualities are in a class of its own and most other plug-in models posted lower sales than in the previous H1, esp. in the car category, while SUVs fared better.
Other inhibitors are the discontinuation of the Chevrolet Volt, the change-over to the new BMW X5, BMW 3-Series, Kia Soul and the Sonata/Optima siblings from Hyundai-Kia. Nissan Leaf sales remained sluggish, as battery and charging capabilities are questioned for the current version and sales of the revised 60 kWh version have just started.
For the 2nd half of 2019 EV-Volumes expects around 220,000 plug-in sales, for a total of 370,000 units for the year.
[source: EV-Volumes]
