FOTW #1200, August 23, 2021: Sales of New Electric Vehicles in the U.S. Were Up for 2020 While Conventional New Light-Duty Vehicle Sales Were Down

New U.S. light-duty vehicle sales declined sharply in 2020 but all-electric vehicle (EV) sales continued to rise from the previous year.

Vehicle Technologies Office

August 23, 2021

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New U.S. light-duty vehicle sales declined sharply in 2020 but all-electric vehicle (EV) sales continued to rise from the previous year. Although EV sales are a small percentage of overall new light-duty vehicle sales, they rose from 1.4% of all sales in 2019 to 1.7% in 2020. Hybrid vehicle sales also rose, while plug-in hybrid vehicle sales have declined from a peak (0.7% share of the market) in 2018. Conventional new light-duty vehicle sales declined to 12.7 million in 2020, down from 15.3 million in 2019.

New U.S. Vehicle Sales by Technology Type from 1999 to 2020. Technology types include hybrid, plug-in hybrid, all-electric, and conventional.

Note: Includes cars and light trucks up to 10,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating.

Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 39, April 2021, Table 6.2.

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