Would be third annual decline
Electric Vehicle Registration Up Sharply in 2018
California new car sales were 2 million units in 2018 and 2019 is expected to continue trending down to about 1.96 million new vehicle registrations says the California New Car Dealers Assn.
This would be the third year in a row for declining sales.
Californians are still favoring trucks and SUVs over cars and the smaller car market in the state is down to 21%.
Statewide, 2018 car sales declined 10% in 2018 vs 2017 while light truck sales were up 5%. Car sales fell more sharply across the US declining by 13% while truck sales were up 6.9%.
The passenger car market in California came in at 44.8 % of the new vehicles sold vs just 31% in the US. Truck sales in the state are now over 1 million units annually.
Tesla takes off
Electric vehicles sold well in California in 2018 -up from 2% of all sales in 2017 to 4.7% in 2018.
Adding the hybrid/electric category together they reach 12% of all sales in 2018. Tesla showed the fastest growth in the state, up 100% from 2017. Tesla sold over 70,000 cars in California in 2018 vs 19,000 in 2017.
All-electric vehicles saw the biggest market share increase in the state mostly thanks to the introduction of the Tesla Model 3.
This year more new all-electric vehicles including Audi e-tron and Kia Niro EV will become available.