Throughout 2024, headlines highlighted a purported slump in electric vehicle sales. Not even Tesla, the top-selling EV in the country, could “dodge the EV sales slowdown,” one declared. But that news could be easily misconstrued, and doesn’t quite tell the full picture of the growing industry, experts say—and of the record year EVs had.
“EV sales overall are incredibly strong,” says Albert Gore, director of the nonprofit Zero Emissions Transportation Association (ZETA). Though the numbers aren’t yet out for the fourth quarter of the year, Q3 was “recording setting” for both sales volume and market share, he noted.
Reports of an EV slowdown aren’t talking about the volume of vehicles sold, but the growth rate. For several years, EV sales saw 50% growth year over year. Now, it’s closer to 20%. That may look like sales are slumping, but they’re still increasing—just at a slower rate. The early adopters eager to buy EVs drove the early growth, and after that rush of enthusiasm, the industry is now working to attract mainstream buyers.
A 20% growth rate is “still a really compelling market for any manufacturer that wants to get into it,” Gore notes. He expects EV........