Top Non-Tesla Electric Cars In USA Had Under 30,000 Sales In 2021

I’m a huge fan of several non-Tesla electric cars. I’d happily recommend the Ford Mustang Mach-E or Volkswagen ID.4 to anyone who expressed any interest in those vehicles. I currently own a Tesla Model 3, but I previously owned and loved a BMW i3 and I would say without a doubt that I’m more excited to see a non-Tesla EV on the road than a Tesla — in large part because the former are so much more rare and the latter are everywhere. In Europe and China, the story is different, but in the USA, the electric vehicle market is dominated by Tesla. Disappointingly, the top selling non-Tesla electric vehicles last year couldn’t even reach 30,000 annual sales. …

Looking at Q4 2021 sales, the Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y each had around 50,000 sales. The next best electric models were the Ford Mustang Mach-E, with just 8,285 sales; the Volkswagen ID.4, with 4,463 sales; and the Nissan LEAF, with 4,165 sales. Below are versions of the Q4 2021 sales chart with and without Tesla’s sales (which are informed estimates that basically come from Troy Teslike).

Note that this is not a comprehensive analysis of electric vehicle sales in the US. Sales are not independently reported for some electric vehicle models, such as the Hyundai Kona EV and Kia Niro EV.

It’s a similar story looking at 2021 as a whole. While Tesla Model 3 and Model Y sales were around 147,000 and 185,000, the next best selling electric vehicles — the Ford Mustang Mach-e, Chevy Bolt EV/EUV, Volkswagen ID.4, and Nissan LEAF — had just 27,140, 24,828, 16,742, and 14,239 sales, respectively. No other electric vehicle reached 10,000 sales in 2021 as far as we know.

Compare those charts to the robust, healthy, exciting EV sales chart for Europe (plugin hybrids included):

Even the last model on that list for Europe had more sales in 2021 than the top selling non-Tesla electric vehicle in the US. (Just remember that the European list includes plugin hybrids whereas the US list is solely focused on full electric vehicles.)

What will it take to get the US to European levels? When will Ford, Volkswagen, and others be ready to ramp up US sales of electric vehicles to 100,000+ per year.