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Sales of electric cars here in America is a hot topic these days, with some applauding its growth in recent years and others warning that sales aren’t rising as fast as they should be. Now, new analysis of new car registrations across America show that electric car sales are actually growing at a much faster rate than the rest of the auto industry.
According to a new report from Automotive News, sales of battery-powered models across America are up compared with the rest of the industry. The boost has been spurred on by price cuts, tax breaks and other incentives aimed at encouraging Americans to go electric:
“The June month numbers were good for EVs,” said Kent Chiu, an analyst at S&P Global SPGI+1.38% Mobility. “But behind them were pretty strong incentives as a motivator.”
New EV registrations rose 3.1 percent in June from a year earlier to 108,026 vehicles compared with an 8.8 percent drop in the broader light-vehicle market to just over 1.2 million, S&P Global SPGI+1.38% Mobility said.
The relatively strong showing pushed EV market share to 8.9 percent in June from 7.9 percent in June 2023. The registration data, which is the most recent available, doesn’t include gasoline-electric hybrids or used vehicles.
While the growing share of American car sales is good news for EV proponents, the latest sales figures did come with a warning. Experts pointed out that the prevalence of tax breaks and other incentives for EVs could be the only reason EV sales are growing compared with gas models. These offers, they claim, are essential in order to convince some buyers to go electric.
Without these price cuts, which can reach as much as $18,000 on some models, hesitant buyers may not be as likely to make the switch. Still, these offers are clearly working out as for now EV registrations have risen dramatically in the first half of 2024, reports Automotive News. According to the site, registrations are up 7% compared with 2023.
A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik’s The Morning Shift.