Tesla has parlayed early-mover advantage into a mile-long lead over the auto industry in electric vehicle sales.
But the Empire is beginning to strike back with a battalion of competitively specced and priced electric models.
Automakers have introduced nearly 15 EV models in the U.S. since the beginning of 2021, with eight launched this year, according to EV subscription startup Autonomy.
The conga line of new vehicles is putting pressure on Tesla, which saw its share of new-vehicle registrations slide 2.8 percentage points to 65.4 percent through September, according to data from Experian Automotive.
While Tesla dominates the segment, its year-over-year registrations grew 50 percent in the year’s first nine months.
In contrast, legacy automakers and non-Tesla startups saw a 71 percent surge in EV registrations through September, with 183,750 registrations among 22 brands.
Based on the current sales trajectory and new introductions from legacy automakers, Autonomy predicts Tesla’s share of EV sales in the U.S. will drop just below 50 percent in the first quarter of 2023 and fall to about 40 percent by the end of next year.
Overall, EV registrations climbed 57 percent year-over-year to 530,577. Through September, EVs accounted for a record 5.2 percent share of U.S. light-vehicle total registrations, compared with 2.8 percent a year ago.