U.S. EV Registrations Were Up In October Despite Tesla Being In The Red

• EV registrations in the United States were up 5% in October.
• Tesla is still the number one player, but its volume is declining.
• Meanwhile, General Motors, Hyundai, Honda and more are getting their numbers up.

To be clear, Tesla is still the biggest player in the electric car market in the United States. That said, its grip seems to be slowly slipping.

In October, electric vehicle registrations in the United States went up 5% compared to the same month last year, thanks in no part to Tesla, which recorded a decline and nearly took down the whole industry with it if it weren’t for the likes of Hyundai, Chevrolet, Honda, Ford, Cadillac, Rivian and others.

In total, Americans bought 101,304 EVs in October, according to S&P Global Mobility. Out of those customers, fewer and fewer are going for Tesla models. In seven out of the first ten months of the year, the Elon Musk-led company saw its volume decline, and October is no different, with a 1.8% drop year-on-year.

Without Tesla in the mix, EV registrations would have gone up 11% compared to last year, but–again–the overall volume would have been just 56,203. That’s because the Model Y and Model 3 are the country’s best-selling EVs by a long shot. In October alone, the Model Y recorded 21,787 registrations, down from the 25,220 units last year. Meanwhile, the Model 3 had 17,419 registrations, slightly up from last year’s 16,237. The controversial Cybertruck was also up there in the top 10 best-selling EVs in October, with 4,041 units registered.

However, Hyundai and General Motors saw the biggest gains, percentage-wise, as you can see in the table below.

The Chevy Equinox EV, Chevy Blazer EV, Cadillac Lyriq and Honda Prologue had huge jumps in the registration numbers because they were either not on sale in October of last year or deliveries were just starting to ramp up.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 managed to stay in the top three and recorded a 26% spike in registrations. A the other end of the top 10 list is the Rivian R1S, which noted 2,456 registrations, a 17% drop year-on-year.

When it comes to car brands, Tesla is the undisputed leader, followed by Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai and Honda. Interestingly, Fisker, which went bankrupt earlier this year, had 110 registrations, more than Volkswagen, which had just 92. As a reminder, the German automaker’s volume seller, the ID.4 crossover, is under a stop-sale order due to a door handle recall.