US electric vehicle sales surge in 2022, gain on Tesla

U.S. electric vehicle sales jumped by two-thirds in 2022 as sales for the overall auto industry dropped, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Fully electric vehicles jumped in popularity last year, making up 5.8 percent of all vehicles sold in 2022, an increase from 3.2 percent in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. The new data, which the publication gathered from market-research firm Motor Intelligence, comes after the overall U.S. auto industry saw its worst sale year in over a decade, with sales falling 8 percent in 2022.

Tesla made up 65 percent of the electric-vehicle industry sales last year, a significant decrease from its 72 percent in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. Ford Motor Co. held the second spot by accounting for 7.6 percent of U.S. electric vehicle sales, and Hyundai Motor. Co and affiliate Kia Corp held the third top spot by making up 7.1 percent of electric vehicle sales, the report said.

Many automakers have also raised prices on their electric vehicles due to the rising costs of necessary materials, like lithium. The Wall Street Journal reported that the average cost of an electric vehicle was $66,000 during the summer in 2022, a significant increase from the $51,000 price tag a year earlier.

Tesla did not deliver as many vehicles as they initially intended to in 2022, increasing deliveries by 40 percent last year instead of its goal of more than 50 percent, according to a separate report published by The Wall Street Journal. Tesla delivered 1.31 million vehicles in 2022, falling short of the 1.4 million deliveries needed to reach its 50 percent goal.

Tesla recalled more than 1 million vehicles in September over automatic windows that could pinch a driver or passenger and potentially cause injuries while closing. Tesla also laid off 200 employees in June and closed one of its offices in California.