VinFast reports continued growth in US electric car sales

DNHN - VinFast now holds 0.3% of the US electric vehicle market share after Q1. Compared to Q1/2023, the Vietnamese car manufacturer’s sales increased by a significant 743%, as it only began shipping cars to the US in late 2022.

According to data from Kelly Blue Book, a leading US automotive market research firm, Americans purchased a total of 268,909 new electric vehicles in Q1/2024. The market share of electric vehicles in total new car sales during the same period was 7.3%, down from Q4/2023.

Annual electric vehicle sales continue to grow in the US, but the growth rate has slowed considerably. Compared to the same period in 2023, sales in Q1 this year increased by only 2.6% and decreased by 15.2% compared to Q4/2023. The increase in Q1 was also lower than in the previous two years.

However, while overall growth was at its lowest in Q1, there were still at least 9 car manufacturers that recorded increases of more than 50% compared to the same period last year. This list includes BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Mercedes, Rivian, and VinFast.

Below are the Q1 electric vehicle sales figures for brands operating in the US:

The list above includes only brands that sold at least 100 electric vehicles in Q1 in the US, and there are a total of 26 brands. Vietnamese car manufacturer VinFast is ranked 23rd, above 3 other brands: Mini, BrightDrop, and Jaguar. BrightDrop is a subsidiary of General Motors, founded in 2021, that specialises in providing product connectivity systems for first- and last-mile delivery customers, including light commercial electric vehicles and cloud-based software.

VinFast’s Q1 sales in the US were 927 vehicles, all of which were the VF 8, a D-segment SUV. In the US, the VF 8 is priced from around $47,000. VinFast now holds 0.3% of the US electric vehicle market share after Q1. Compared to Q1/2023, the Vietnamese car manufacturer’s sales increased by a significant 743%, as it only began shipping cars to the US in late 2022.

According to KBB estimates, Tesla’s sales in the US decreased by 13.3% year-over-year - much lower than Tesla’s familiar double-digit growth. Tesla’s market share in the electric vehicle market in Q1/2024 was 51.3%, down from 61.7% in the same period last year.

Notably, lower prices have supported electric vehicle sales volume in the US, especially for Tesla’s core models. The average selling price of a new EV in Q1 was $55,167, down 9.0% year-over-year. Meanwhile, Tesla’s average price was $52,315 in the recent quarter, down about 13.5% year-over-year. However, lower prices did not translate into higher sales volume.

Other brands with significant declines include Volvo (-63%), Chevrolet (-55.8%), and Volkswagen (-36.8%).

A bright spot in Q1 was strong electric vehicle sales from luxury automakers, suggesting that the electric vehicle market continues to be led by the luxury segment. Cadillac achieved a 499.2% year-over-year increase in electric vehicle sales, driven by strong sales of the Lyriq.

At Mercedes, electric vehicle sales increased by 66.9%. BMW reported a 62.6% year-over-year increase in electric vehicle sales. Audi’s electric vehicle sales increased by 28.8% year-over-year.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive’s director of automotive analysis, said that electric vehicle sales in the US declined in Q1/2024 - the first quarterly decline since Q2/2020.

“As anticipated, Tesla sales were down significantly, impacting overall market performance. However, a handful of brands saw notable gains in EV sales, posting triple-digit year-over-year growth.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty added: “More new products, additional incentives, improved inventory, increased off-lease volume, and expanded charging infrastructure should help drive EV sales higher this year. But we continue to see fits and starts as the industry moves toward electrification.”

Phuong Anh