The U.S. market for new battery-electric vehicles has hit a roadblock.
Just as Tesla Inc. drove sales growth over the past several years, its declines in March—and in the first quarter—weighed down the electric vehicle segment, S&P Global Mobility registration data showed.
But there were bright spots. A half-dozen big players were growing and adding market share, although their gains were helped by price cuts and lease deals that are costly to auto makers in the short term.
Industry analysts are divided on where the market goes from here. Some see the EV segment flat at about 7 percent of registrations for the foreseeable future. And others see moderate growth as more affordable products enter the market, such as the Chevrolet Equinox EV, the Volvo EX30 and Tesla's promised low-cost models in early 2025.
The March registration data, the most recent available, serves as a proxy for EV sales since Tesla doesn't break out U.S. deliveries and some EV makers don't detail sales by model. The new-vehicle registration data excludes hybrids.