In August 2020, cumulative U.S. plug-in vehicle sales reached 1.6 million units. Plug-in vehicles consist of both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
Cumulative BEV sales reached one million units while cumulative PHEV sales were about 600,000. Since June of 2015, BEV sales have outpaced PHEV sales and for the last year, BEVs accounted for 60% or more of all plug-in vehicle sales.
Currently available electric-drive vehicles (EDV) in the U.S market include hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). Plug-in Vehicles (PEV) include both PHEV and BEV. HEVs debuted in the U.S. market in December 1999 with 17 sales of the first-generation Honda Insight, while the first PHEV (Chevrolet Volt) and BEV (Nissan Leaf) most recently debuted in December 2010. Electric drive vehicles are offered in several car and SUV models, and a few pickup and van models.
Latest Monthly Sales Data
HEV Sales
During September 2020, 43,130 HEVs (17,321 cars and 25,809 LTs) were sold in the United States, up 43.03% from the sales in September 2019.
Toyota accounted for a 69.25% share of total HEV sales in this month. Prius (Prius and Prius C in total) accounted for 5.8% (2,513 vehicles) of total HEV sales, down 45.8% from September 2019.
The September 2020 HEV sales share of LDV (<= 10,000 lbs. GVW) sales was 3.21%, while September 2020 HEV cars captured 5.67% share of total car sales.
Plug-In Vehicle Sales
A total of 34,204 plug-in vehicles (28,034 BEVs and 6,170 PHEVs) were sold during September 2020 in the United States, up 3.2% from the sales in September 2019. PEVs captured 2.54% of total LDV sales in this month.
Cumulatively, 198,394 PHEVs and BEVs have been sold in 2020. In total, 1,642,021 PHEVs and BEVs have been sold since 2010.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Sales
There were 80 FCEVs sold in the United States in September 2020.
Cumulatively, 661 FCEVs have been sold in 2020. In total, 8,911 FCEVs have been sold since 2014.
Source: Argonne National Laboratory, Light Duty Electric Drive Vehicles Monthly Sales Updates, August 2020.