EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA had the most new battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations in California last year than any other automaker with its Model Y SUV reigning as the top-selling vehicle in the state. However, California-based EV startup Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN witnessed the biggest jump in new registrations.
What Happened: According to a recent report by the California New Car Dealers Association, Tesla had 230,588 new registrations last year, up 24.6% from the 185,090 registered in 2022. The Model Y was the best-selling vehicle in the state with 132,636 new registrations.
Interestingly, more Model Ys were registered in the state than the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V put together. This is despite the fact that both vehicles are priced lower than the Model Y which starts at $43,990.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk noted this during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday and said, “People are really stretching their wallets to be able to afford a Tesla. It’s quite a difficult thing for them to do, and remarkable that it’s the best-selling car in unit volume, despite being much more expensive than other high-volume cars.”
See Also: Best Electric Vehicle Stocks
Rivian Registrations Jump: The brand that witnessed a maximum jump in new registrations was, however, Rivian. 10,297 new Rivian vehicles were registered last year, marking a jump of 142.7%. The Rivian R1S further features in the top 10 best-selling BEVs in the state with 6,665 new registrations.
California is seemingly warming up fast to EVs with BEV market share rising to 21.4% in 2023 from 16.4% the year before. This has had an inverse impact on the internal combustion engine’s market share which dropped to 63.9%.
Rivian vs Tesla. Photos via Shutterstock
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