While overall auto sales are on the decline, EVs are on a dramatic rise. Celebration or crisis?

Gasoline prices are surging, supply chain issues are leaving car lots baren and bloating prices, and climate change moves further to the front of the wide public's minds. Thus is our reality, and that reality is manifesting itself in the auto market, where Kelly Blue Book reports that overall car sales in 2022 Q1 are down nearly 16%. 

Yet, while overall car sales are down, sales of electric vehicles are on a dramatic rise. Over the same period, while almost every other category of automotive is down, electric vehicles have boomed, seeing sales increase YoY by 76%, nearly doubling. Oddly, small/mid-size pickup trucks are the only other vehicle category that saw a rise, up 7.2%, though, that's a conversation for a different community. 

Electric vehicles now make up 5.2% of the market share, a significant milestone that was EVs rapidly reached on the backs of society's contemporary ills, from the Russia-Ukraine War, to growing concerns about sustainability and the environment.

While it's a celebration for the EV industry, this news should be a wake-up call to the electric industry, as more cars than ever are charging on the country's grids, and that number is clearly on the rapid rise. Grid operators should see this as an affirmation of their efforts to build smart grids and work with EV manufacturers on ramping up technology that would use the growing number of EVs as battery storage. Without this innovation and by not making this a priority, news like this could signal moving closer to a crisis than a celebration.