First-ever major US metro area hits 50% EV registrations in March

[dimondpark]

BLOG Jun 13, 2023
First-ever major US metro area hits 50% electrified vehicle registrations in March
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Tom Libby

San Francisco BEV and hybrid sales combine to outsell pure-gasoline vehicles

In a milestone for the growth of electrified vehicles in the United States, half of all new retail vehicle registrations in the San Francisco DMA (Designated Market Area) in March were electrified, according to new analysis of the latest registration data available from S&P Global Mobility. This represents the first time a major US metropolitan area has reached this threshold. San Francisco's 50% electrification level is more than three times that of the United States (16.6%) in the same March period. To show it was not a one-time event, the growth of electrification in San Francisco continued in April, reaching yet another record of 53.1%.

Note that "electrified" includes battery-electric and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles; both of which played roles in propelling San Francisco to this new height: The San Francisco DMA's EV share in March of 34.2% was more than four times the US average of 7.3%, and the Bay Area's hybrid share of 15.8% was more than 6 percentage points above the United States' hybrid rate of 9.3%....

https://www.spglobal.com/mobility/en...icle-regi.html

The rest of CA actually isnt too far behind.

[JManc]

Teslas are the Toyota Corolla of the Bay Area.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by JManc

Teslas are the Toyota Corolla of the Bay Area.

Parts of LA, too. I had dinner and drinks al fresco on Ventura Blvd. last night, and every other car driving by was a Tesla. One of my friends first pointed that out, and I then noticed the same thing. They're everywhere.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by craigs

Parts of LA, too. I had dinner and drinks al fresco on Ventura Blvd. last night, and every other car driving by was a Tesla. One of my friends first pointed that out, and I then noticed the same thing. They're everywhere.

There are at the very least, 35 to 40 Teslas in my building in downtown LA. I cant imagine LA is that far behind the bay area percentage wise. Seems like everyone drives a hybrid or electric car these days.

[MAC123]

And I expect it to keep going up. Tesla can't build gigafactories fast enough, it just recently announced one in Mexico and is already in talks with France for another one

[Crawford]

I don't see many Teslas here. And I can't imagine that Musk's bizarre political evolution will help to drive sales.

EVs are definitely on the fast rise, but it will take a looong time for the rest of the country to have majority EV share. And I don't think Tesla will drive this. CA was an early adopter, and Tesla was basically the only game, but I'd guess CA's EV breakdown diversifies considerably. Even 10 years ago, it seemed like every other vehicle in West LA or Coastal OC was a Tesla. That was still the point where you could go days without seeing them in the rest of the country.

Also, it's hard to tell here, bc such a high share of vehicles on the road are commercial. Super high share of commercial vans, work trucks, for-hire vehicles, etc. A lot of people here also keep old cars for weekend trips, and if they're gearheads, they definitely aren't into EVs. Teslas have broken into Uber/Lyft but you barely see Rivians, so it's gonna take time for the commercial end. Once sprinter vans, mini-pickups and the like are EV, then they'll be ubiquitous here.

[sopas ej]

EVs are very common where I live. My apartment complex (24 units) has 2 or 3 Teslas and a number of hybrids; around town I see many Teslas, Hyundai IONIQ5s, Mustang Mach-Es, VW ID.4s... and of course plenty of hybrids. As well as quite a number of Toyota Mirais, as I live near a hydrogen fuel station. I don't live far from a Tesla supercharging lot too, as well as a lot with other EV chargers. At work I have a number of coworkers with hybrids; one drives a Tesla Y and another drives a Jag I-Pace.

On my street and in the carport of my complex, I hear that tell-tale weird moaning noise daily of a late-model hybrid or EV backing up...

I really wish Tesla would redesign or at least refresh their models soon; they're all so tired-looking now, and they all look the same.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I don't see many Teslas here. And I can't imagine that Musk's political posturing will drive sales. EVs are definitely on the rise, but it will take a looong time for the rest of the country to have majority EV share. And I don't think Tesla will drive this.

That hasn't effected sales in the Bay Area or LA which are more granola than NY. You're also up north where the winter months are not conducive to current EV technology. My brother passed on one because the range takes a hit in the cold.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I don't see many Teslas here. And I can't imagine that Musk's bizarre political evolution will help to drive sales.

EVs are definitely on the fast rise, but it will take a looong time for the rest of the country to have majority EV share. And I don't think Tesla will drive this. CA was an early adopter, and Tesla was basically the only game, but I'd guess CA's EV breakdown diversifies considerably.

Also, it's hard to tell here, bc such a high share of vehicles on the road are commercial. Super high share of commercial vans, work trucks, for-hire vehicles, etc. Teslas have broken into Uber/Lyft but you barely see Rivians, so it's gonna take time for the commercial end.

"And I don't think Tesla will drive this."
It's kinda hard to think otherwise considering Tesla already drives it, and has for a decade

[Steely Dan]

I don't see many pure EV's in Chicago.

Our cold winters are not ideal for pure battery power.

But lots of hybrids, which are more practical for our climate.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

up...

I really wish Tesla would redesign or at least refresh their models soon; they're all so tired-looking now, and they all look the same.

The model s got a refresh a year of so ago and there are rumors of a Model 3 refresh. As for looking the same, not really. The model 3 and Y look the same but that’s about it (though they are the majority of Tesla's on the roads so I can agree with you there)

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by MAC123

"And I don't think Tesla will drive this."
It's kinda hard to think otherwise considering Tesla already drives it, and has for a decade

Really? Why would you assume that the EV company that had a near-complete monopoly would drive sales once every single car company has EVs? That's like assuming the Sears catalogue would drive consumer sales forever.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Really? Why would you assume that the EV company that had a near-complete monopoly would drive sales once every single car company has EVs? That's like assuming the Sears catalogue would drive consumer sales forever.

This argument has been made almost since the founding of the company. Once other companies come with EV's Tesla is toast. Well other companies have EV's now, Tesla still outsells them by a wide margin.

Now I'm not a fortune teller so I can't say for sure what the future looks like 100%, but all signs point to Tesla still being the king.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I don't see many pure EV's in Chicago.

Our cold winters are not ideal for pure battery power.

But lots of hybrids, which are more practical for our climate.

Yeah, I see a lot more hybrids. Maybe climate plays a role.

I do see far more Teslas in the suburbs, but still nothing remotely like the West Coast. Not even anything like I see in places like Atlanta and Austin.

Wild guesses, but if you're granolish here, you don't generally have an EV, you have a bike or do contactless OMNY (transit). On the West Coast, outside of parts of SF, you're generally gonna have a car, in which case an EV is a cultural fit. Also, the tri-state area is by far the biggest European vehicle market in the U.S., and they're way behind the U.S. in EV development. It seems most vehicles in my neighborhood are VW, MB, BMW, Volvo. They're way behind Ford and GM, to say nothing of Tesla. VW is probably the planet's laggard.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by MAC123

This argument has been made almost since the founding of the company. Once other companies come with EV's Tesla is toast. Well other companies have EV's now, Tesla still outsells them by a wide margin.

I don't know any other companies that have EVs in large-scale production for the U.S. Which companies?

Most Ford, GM and FCA models are years from transition. They're still pumping out regular Escapes, Edges, Explorers, Broncos, Cherokees, Equinoxes, etc. There are no EV models (yet). This is what people drive in places like Michigan, Ohio, etc.

Also, who said anything about Tesla being "toast"? They'll probably thrive. It's just likely that they won't be driving EV market share, since they're toxic to millions, and all the domestics haven't transitioned yet.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I don't know any other companies that have EVs in large-scale production for the U.S. Which companies?

Most Ford, GM and FCA models are years from transition. They're still pumping out regular Escapes, Edges, Explorers, Broncos, Cherokees, Equinoxes, etc. There are no EV models (yet). This is what people drive in places like Michigan, Ohio, etc.

Also, who said anything about Tesla being "toast"? They'll probably thrive. It's just likely that they won't be driving EV market share, since they're toxic to millions, and all the domestics haven't transitioned yet.

How long has the Bolt been in production now? Almost a decade? If it isn't in mass production it's either because GM made a bad product or they don't know how to bring it into mass production (which I doubt because they've been doing it forever). I can give you the other 2, they just started and Ford is looking to have some pretty good offerings.

As for that second part, that's another reason why the traditional companies are in a bad place. Their current (highly profitable) business of making big trucks and SUVs with ICE means their factories are geared toward those ICE's, which is a liability in the billions of dollars. Besides money it also takes time to reconfigure those factories, which means all of them will continue to play catchup while Tesla continues to expand and dominate the market.

Lots of people have predicted Tesla's demise for a while now (or at least before they became the monolith it is now).
They're toxic to millions? What are you talking about? Are you talking about Musk? Because I highly doubt his Twitter comments are going to stifle Tesla in the long run.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by JManc

Teslas are the Toyota Corolla of the Bay Area.

I don't know what it's like elsewhere, but they're all over the place here, too. I work in a small town with 8,200 people, and I see them every day, sometimes three at a time at an intersection. They're not quite "pickup level common" but you will see several every day anywhere you go around Central Texas. And it doesn't seem to matter what demographic someone is either. Young, old, liberal, or conservative. They all drive them.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by MAC123

How long has the Bolt been in production now? Almost a decade? If it isn't in mass production it's either because GM made a bad product or they don't know how to bring it into mass production (which I doubt because they've been doing it forever). I can give you the other 2, they just started and Ford is looking to have some pretty good offerings.

The Bolt isn't a core model. When was the last time you saw a Bolt?

Again, none of the major domestic brands have transitioned. All will have transitioned over the next five years. There's no reason to assume that Ma & Pa Equinox or Escape or Bronco buyer/lessee will shift brands.

Originally Posted by MAC123

As for that second part, that's another reason why the traditional companies are in a bad place. Their current (highly profitable) business of making big trucks and SUVs with ICE means their factories are geared toward those ICE's, which is a liability in the billions of dollars.

No. There is no company on earth investing in ICE anymore. It's 100% EV. Every single factory will be converted. I know a bunch of people who work engineering/product development in Metro Detroit and there is nothing happening in that world except managing the transition.

Again, Tesla has had zero EV competition. In five years, every brand on the planet will be EV-centric. The Chinese brands, which are crap, but cheap and popular in China, are already cutting into Tesla.

Originally Posted by MAC123

They're toxic to millions? What are you talking about? Are you talking about Musk? Because I highly doubt his Twitter comments are going to stifle Tesla in the long run.

I don't know anyone personally who would purchase a Tesla, and the main reason is Musk. I might as well buy a Putinmobile or Trumpmobile. No freaking way. Not if you paid me. I'm not enriching that maniac. If he completely divested, I'd consider it, but not the current models, which all have pretty terrible styling.

[pj3000]

I’m pretty surprised how many Teslas I see in Pittsburgh.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by Crawford

The Bolt isn't a core model. When was the last time you saw a Bolt?

Again, none of the major domestic brands have transitioned. All will have transitioned over the next five years. There's no reason to assume that Ma & Pa Equinox or Escape or Bronco buyer/lessee will shift brands.

No. There is no company on earth investing in ICE anymore. It's 100% EV. Every single factory will be converted. I know a bunch of people who work engineering/product development in Metro Detroit and there is nothing happening in that world except managing the transition.

Again, Tesla has had zero EV competition. In five years, every brand on the planet will be EV-centric. The Chinese brands, which are crap, but cheap and popular in China, are already cutting into Tesla.


I don't know anyone personally who would purchase a Tesla, and the main reason is Musk. I might as well buy a Putinmobile or Trumpmobile. No freaking way. Not if you paid me. I'm not enriching that maniac. If he completely divested, I'd consider it, but not the current models, which all have pretty terrible styling.

"No. There is no company on earth investing in ICE anymore. It's 100% EV. Every single factory will be converted. I know a bunch of people who work engineering/product development in Metro Detroit and there is nothing happening in that world except managing the transition."

https://www.wardsauto.com/industry-n...suv-production

Or do you mean just the engines?

"Again, Tesla has had zero EV competition. In five years, every brand on the planet will be EV-centric. The Chinese brands, which are crap, but cheap and popular in China, are already cutting into Tesla."

Do you think Tesla will stop investing in 5 years? Tesla has the lead by a wide margin and they aren't just sitting there waiting for everyone else to catch up.

"I don't know anyone personally who would purchase a Tesla"

I mean cool but that's a personal anecdote. Tesla's sell like hot cakes.