EV share jumps to 2.3% as registrations surge

The number of electric vehicles registered in the U.S. nearly doubled in the first four months of 2021 as overall registrations climbed 36 percent.

Registrations of battery-electric vehicles jumped 95 percent to 133,509 in the January through April period from the same period of 2020, according to Experian data. That gave EVs 2.3 percent of the market, up from 1.6 percent last year.

Registrations declined for three of Tesla's four nameplates: the Model 3, down 12 percent; the Model S, down 63 percent; and the Model X, down 75 percent. But Tesla's newest offering, the Model Y, saw registrations surge to 53,102 from 2,260 in the year-earlier period, giving the company an overall increase of 71 percent and keeping it in fourth place among luxury brands. The registration data provides the most accurate view into Tesla's U.S. sales because the automaker doesn't report monthly or by country.

Tesla accounted for four of the 10 most popular EVs. The Model Y was No. 1, followed by the Model 3, Chevrolet Bolt EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Nissan Leaf.

The only non-Tesla EV with a decline in registrations was the Volkswagen e-Golf, which went out of production at the end of 2020.

California, the top EV state, accounted for 38 percent of EV registrations, down from 45 percent in the year-earlier period. EV registrations in the state rose 64 percent. Florida was No. 2, with 7.2 percent of EV registrations, followed by Texas, with 5.9 percent.

The Mach-E is the only one of the top five EVs new on the market in 2021. There were 6,104 Mach-Es registered through April, including 1,675 in California and 604 in Michigan.

Ford production data this month showed it had built 27,816 Mach-Es in Mexico in 2021, compared with 26,089 internal combustion Mustangs in Michigan.