EV sales have cracked the whole-digit mark for the first time in the US. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 1.1% of new vehicle sales in California in the first half of 2013, according to California Auto Outlook, a publication of the California New Car Dealers Association.
Hybrids took 7% of the market, up from 6.2% in 2012, while plug-in hybrids scored 0.7%. That’s a total of 59,300 hybrids, 5,736 plug-in hybrids and 9,708 EVs.
Toyota remains the leading brand in the Golden State, with an 18.5% market share, and the Prius family is the top-selling model. Honda came in a distant second, with 11.8%, followed by Ford with 11.7%.
Total light vehicle sales were up 12.5% in California compared to 2012, and up 7.7% in the US market as a whole.
Tesla sold 4,714 units of the Model S in California in the first half of 2013, representing about 52% of its deliveries worldwide. Model S was the third best-selling brand in the luxury and sports segment, bested only by the Mercedes E-Class and the BMW 5 Series.
