Auto sales in state decline in 2022; EV interest up

New-vehicle sales in Colorado during 2022 declined 13.3% over 2021, but the decline was not as steep as the nationwide decline of 14.8%.

The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, which tracks vehicle sales statewide, noted in its final report of last year that market share for electric and hybrid vehicles increased in the fourth quarter, with hybrid vehicles market share increasing to 7.2% of sales in the quarter, an 8% improvement year-over-year.

Battery-electric-vehicle market share reached 8.1% in the quarter, a nearly 50% improvement, CADA said.

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Plug-in-hybrid vehicle sales were up 2.4% in the fourth quarter, a 21.8% increase year-over-year. 

Improvements in the electric and hybrid categories came at the expense of the light-truck market, which traditionally has dominated vehicle sales in Colorado. While the light-truck market declined 12.7%, it still maintained an 86.9% market share. Light trucks include pickups, sport-utility vehicles and similar vehicles.

“Colorado’s new vehicle market continues to outperform the U.S. market and while gasoline powered vehicles make up 76.8% of the market, we’re seeing a substantial increase in registrations of battery electric and hybrid vehicles,” CADA president Tim Jackson said in a written statement. “Other positives are a continuing pent up demand for new vehicles, along with expected improvement in the automotive supply chain in the next year, which can encourage manufacturers to lower prices on new vehicles to improve sales. We’re also keeping an eye on economic headwinds due to high inflation, increasing interest rates, higher gas prices, and the potential for a national recession.”

Other highlights:

• Tesla leads the hybrid and electric-vehicle market, with 23.9% market share. Toyota closely follows with 23.3%.  
• The top five selling brands in Colorado based on registrations for 2022 include Subaru with 9,417 registrations followed by Volkswagen (1,772), RAM, (1,549), Toyota (1,333), and Ford (1,269). 
•  Market share for the top five selling brands in the state are Tesla (26%), Mitsubishi (10.8%), Kia (9.4%), MINI (6%), and Genesis (1.9%).
• The top five selling models in Colorado last year were led by the Ford F-Series with a 4% market share followed by Toyota RAV4 (3.7%), Ram pickup (3.5%), Subaru Crosstrek (2.9%), and Chevrolet Silverado (2.8%).
• Used-vehicle registrations in Colorado were down 4.8%, less than the 13.3% decrease in the new-vehicle market. Late-model used vehicles are defined as those models that are seven years old or newer.