Toyota Dominates California With Combustion Engine Models — But It Faces A Growing EV Onslaught

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp TM holds the top spot for the highest number of vehicle sales, particularly combustion engine vehicles, among all automakers in California.

What Happened: According to the latest report by the California New Car Dealers Association, 278,345 new Toyota vehicles were registered in California last year, marking a 2% year-on-year increase. The majority of these vehicles appear to be combustion engine vehicles, as Toyota reported only 3,753 Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) registrations and 10,889 plug-in hybrid registrations last year.

The best-selling Toyota vehicles in the state include the RAV4, Camry, Corolla, and Tacoma.

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Japanese Automakers Dominate Californian Market: In 2023, the market share of Japanese brands in California was 39.5%, surpassing the U.S. level of 35.9%. Toyota claims a majority of this with a market share of 15.7% in California, followed by Honda Motor Co HMC with a 9.7% market share.

A total of 172,834 new Honda vehicles were registered in California last year, representing a 33.4% increase. The company’s best-selling vehicles include the Civic, Accord, and CR-V.

Toyota’s EV Outlook Challenged: Despite Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda‘s recent statement predicting that BEVs would secure no more than 30% of the global automotive market share, leaving the majority to other fuel technologies, the California market tells a different story. 

In 2023, the market share for hybrids was at 11.1%, and for plug-in hybrids, it was 3.4%. However, this combined market share still lags behind the 21.4% for BEVs in the state.

Moreover, within the plug-in hybrid segment, Toyota RAV4 PHEV’s new registrations in the state fall behind the Wrangler PHEV from Stellantis NV STLA brand Jeep. While 13,351 new Jeep Wrangler PHEVs were registered last year, RAV4 PHEV registrations trail at 7,181 units.

Tesla’s Model Y was also the best-selling car in the state, with a whopping 132,636 new registrations — more than the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V put together.

Interestingly, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in October that no one would buy an RAV4 if his company’s EV cost the same.  

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