Tesla’s dominance in California—the largest electric vehicle market in the U.S.—is waning.
The $1 trillion company led by Elon Musk posted a seventh consecutive quarter of declines in new vehicle registrations even as major competitors like Toyota and Honda saw robust growth, according to data in the California New Car Dealers Association Q2 Auto Outlook. Year to date, Tesla registrations dropped 18.3% while Honda registrations rose 9.9% and Toyota registrations grew 8.5%, the report shows. Ford saw year to date growth in new registrations of 10.5% and Chevrolet grew a whopping 21%.
The Tesla Model 3 remains a top-selling passenger car in California with a 12.6% market share, but the Toyota Camry is nipping right on its heels at 12.2%, with the Honda Civic close behind at 11.5%.
Californians have long had a love affair with zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and the state currently holds 19.5% of ZEV registrations compared to the overall U.S. market share of 7.8%. Thousands of Cybertrucks have been registered in the state since they became available, even as registrations dropped to 25th place among alternative powertrains, while the Model Y and the Model 3 hold the top two spots among hybrids, ZEVs, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Tesla this week even opened the Hollywood Tesla Diner, an 24-7 outdoor eatery and supercharging station designed to look like a Drive-In theater that serves up burgers, fried chicken, and Shirley Temples.
