People are buying electric vehicles more than ever

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2020 was a good year for electric vehicles, despite the pandemic. However, based on data from Q1 2021, this will be an even bigger year for EVs. An analysis made by Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive shows record growth of sales in almost every segment of the EV market in Q1 in the US. 

Compared to Q1 of 2020 in the US, sales of EVs increased by an incredible 81% during Q1 of 2021. This includes combined sales of EVs, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids. The sales of battery-only EVs increased by 44.8% on a YOY basis as almost 100,000 were sold in this quarter. 

As expected, Tesla leads the way as the top brand in the EV segment. Its Model Y is the top-selling electric vehicle in the United States, closely tracked by its own Model 3. The Chevrolet Bolt is holding the third position with almost 10,000 sales during Q1 of 2021. The Ford Mustang Mach-E is positioned at No.4, ahead of both the Tesla Model X and Model S. 

Then there are hybrid vehicles whose sales outpaced both the market and the industry by selling almost 200,000 units this quarter. That’s practically double compared to the same quarter last year. 

Toyota is the leading brand in the hybrid segment. The company managed to sell 124,449 EVs in the first quarter of 2021. Last year, during the same quarter, Toyota sold 49,576 hybrid vehicles. The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the new Sienna minivan make almost half of those sales.

For some time, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid was the best-selling hybrid in the US. Honda is the second-best hybrid maker as it sold over 22,000 hybrids in Q1, followed by Ford and Volvo.

At the moment, there are more than 60 different hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles available in the United States. All in all, the EVs’ market in Q1 of 2021 has 7.8% of the overall US market. That’s a big thing considering that in the same quarter of last year that percentage was only 4.8%.

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Deep Ballu