EV sales rebound as Tesla and Rivian top expectations
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Tesla and Rivian topped expectations on electric vehicle deliveries over the past three months, an early sign that elevated gas prices may be giving EV demand a lift.
Why it matters: EVs had been down in the dumps for an extended period, but with gas now far above $4 per gallon, some consumers appear to be giving them a second look.
The latest: Third quarter delivery figures announced Friday proved encouraging for EV companies:
- Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the quarter, 1.3% more than the second quarter, and topping average analyst expectations of about 462,000.
- Rivian delivered 19,248 vehicles during the same period, up from 12,194 over the prior three months, and exceeding average FactSet expectations of 18,000 units.
- Both stocks rose in early trading Friday.
Between the lines: After gas prices spiked in the spring due largely to the war in Iran, EV sales started to show signs of momentum.
- The segment represented 7.9% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales in the second quarter, up from 6.3% in the first three months of the year, according to a report released last week by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
- Third quarter market share figures were not yet available.
The intrigue: The biggest winner so far might be hybrids, not pure EVs.
- Toyota reported Thursday that sales of its "electrified" vehicles — made up almost entirely of hybrids — soared 29.2% in the third quarter, compared with a year earlier.
- Hits included the RAV4 Hybrid and the RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid, which were up 123% and 184%, respectively.
Reality check: EV sales are still down from a year ago.
- Industry-wide sales were down year over year in the second quarter, according to the Alliance report.
- Despite Tesla's sequential gain in the third quarter, deliveries were down 2.1% compared to the same period last year.
- And sales of several individual EVs at General Motors plunged in the third quarter, as the automaker is "paring back EV manufacturing," the Detroit News reported.
The bottom line: While the larger demand trendline is still moving lower, the economic appeal of EVs is gaining some recent steam.
