According to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, sales of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles make up 16 percent of light-duty vehicle sales across the country.
The report, which uses data from Wards Intelligence, said EV and hybrid sales have increased in recent years, while sales for non-hybrid gasoline- or diesel-fueled vehicles have decreased. A large portion of the sales, the report said, was due to new offerings from manufacturers. Offerings of non-hybrid combustion engine (ICE) vehicles fell from 318 to 297 between 2021 and 2023, while the number of battery-operated models increased from 34 to 55.
The luxury vehicle market made up about 18 percent of new vehicle sales in the second quarter of 2023, up from 14 percent in 2020. The report found that most of the shift in battery-electric models was in the luxury segment. Between 2021 and the second quarter of 2023, manufacturers removed 17 luxury non-hybrid ICE vehicle models from their offerings and added 19 luxury battery-electric models, the report found.
Additionally, battery-electric vehicle account for 20 percent of all available luxury models, compared to 7 percent of all non-luxury models. Model availability is an indicator of consumer acceptance within a market segment, officials said.
In the second quarter of 2023, battery-electric vehicle accounted for 32 percent of total luxury sales, and a little over 1 percent of non-luxury sales, indicating luxury-vehicle buyers are more willing to pay electric vehicle price premiums than non-luxury market buyers, officials said.