Tesla’s Dominance In California Is Fading As Competitors Roll In

(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. accounted for a much smaller share of electric-vehicle sales in California last year, as rivals began to chip away at the company’s dominance in the state.

The Austin-based carmaker made up 60.5% of California’s battery-powered market in 2023, compared to 71% in 2022, according to a report from the California New Car Dealers Association published Monday.

That’s partly a reflection of how much the electric market has grown overall, as companies continue rolling out new battery-powered models. Tesla sales in California still jumped by almost 25% last year, but electric models from Mercedes, BMW and others saw much bigger year-over-year increases that allowed them to eat into the Elon Musk-led company’s market share.

Overall, about a fifth of all cars sold in California are battery-powered, making it the leading electric-car market in the US. Tesla’s Model 3 outsold every other passenger car in the state last year, including gasoline-powered vehicles, while its Model Y topped sales of every other light truck.

The internal combustion engine has been in decline in California, which continued last year. Gas- and diesel-powered vehicles accounted for 63.9% of sales in the state, down 7.7 percentage points from 2022.

After the Model 3, Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry and Honda Motor Co.’s Civic were the most popular passenger cars in California, according to the CNCDA. The Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V were the second- and third-best selling light trucks.

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