Tracking electric vehicle (EV) registrations can be helpful to investors, as some automakers don't release monthly sales and some also don't break out sales per electric vehicle. It's a good way to keep an eye on the industry trends, and while the data is delayed a few weeks, April's data had some interesting movers, including Rivian Automotive (RIVN -7.26%).
What's going on
U.S. EV registrations rose 14% in April, which was a nice turnaround from the slow growth witnessed during the first quarter. The increase was largely driven by more incentives from automakers trying to push excess EV inventory off the lots.
The top 10 EVs by registrations had some major moves, though Tesla continued to easily take first and second place with its Model Y and Model 3, respectively. Despite dominating the market, Tesla's registrations were actually down 17% in April, compared to the prior year, and its market share dropped to 46.3% from 63.8%, according to S&P Global Mobility.
Some of the biggest gainers were Ford Motor Company's (F 2.54%) Mustang Mach-e with a 287% gain, compared to the prior year; Toyota's bZ4X with a staggering 647% gain; and Rivian's R1S with a welcomed 126.8% gain.
It's also worth noting that Tesla's Cybertruck appeared 8th on the list despite not having any comparable gains from the prior year's April. One reason behind Toyota's bZ4X gains is that the company's April incentives checked in at a staggering $10,963, compared to the prior year's $718. Toyota wasn't the only one pushing big deals to move inventory. Ford upped its incentives to roughly $9,000 on its Mustang Mach-e compared to the prior year's $877.
For Rivian, the uptick in R1S registrations is a good sign, as its R1T failed to appear on the top 10 list. Furthermore, management has noted that the R1S is currently the more profitable of the two vehicles. In a little bit of bad news, while the R1T didn't make the cut, its competition, the Ford F-150 Lightning, posted a 95.7% gain. It checked in at 7th, just ahead of the Cybertruck and just behind the R1S.
In terms of brands by market share of EV registrations, Tesla was in the top spot at 46.3%, and Ford was in second place at 8.1%. Hyundai Kia and BMW round out the top five with 5.5%, 4.5%, and 4.3%, respectively. Rivian just missed the top five with a 4.1% gain.
Down the road
Rivian could also see a potential uptick when the summer data is released. That's largely because early in June, the company announced the introduction of its second-generation R1S and R1T. The vehicles were refreshed with hundreds of hardware improvements, performance upgrades, a redesigned software experience, and in-house drive systems.
The EV maker also introduced two entirely new premium Ascend trims, and premium trims are generally associated with better margins -- something very important to Rivian in 2024 as it aims to become gross profit positive in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the spike in R1S registrations is just a little good news as investors hope the R1 vehicles' refresh helps stir up demand while they wait for the R2 launch in 2026.
