August was a good month for electric cars in the US. Sales of plug-in electric vehicles have reached 190,000 units as of August, nearly eclipsing total EV sales in 2017. That caps almost three years of consecutive monthly sales gains (year over year), reports CleanTechnica.
California is the epicenter of this growth. The car-loving state has always led the US in electric vehicle sales, but this August, electric cars captured 10% of the state’s new-car market for the first time, according to the latest data from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The EV market share for the US as a whole is just 1.66%.
In terms of overall sales, California dominates the US market. Outside of California, the east coast has a strong showing.
Tesla had a lot to do with it. The California carmaker sold more EVs than any other automaker on the market, accounting for 47% of all EV sales in the US, according to InsideEVs. Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda and, Nissan were far behind in cumulative sales. Tesla’s Model 3, in particular, has exceeded all expectations. It was the best-selling electric car in the US during the third quarter of 2018, and the fifth-best selling sedan overall. With the Model S and Model X, Tesla holds three of the top four spots among best selling electric cars.