On Tuesday, the mighty EV king, Tesla Inc (TSLA  ) posted its first annual drop in sales since the first year of the pandemic. Simply put, rising EV competition from both Chinese, U.S. and European automakers ate into demand. General Motors (GM  ) posted a drop in deliveries as well as in EVs for the first quarter of 2024.

On the other hand, Ford Motor (F  ) reported a strong start of the year.

Darker Days Could be Ahead for Tesla

Tesla reported it built 433,000 vehicles but delivered only 387,000 during the first three months of the year. This is a drop compared to 484,507 that Tesla delivered during the final three months of 2023, during which BYD (BYDDY  ) took its best EV seller quarterly crown, as well as from 422,875 vehicle sold during last year's comparable quarter. Tesla fueled a price war last year in an effort to boost demand, and although it is more profitable than traditional automakers, the price cuts have been harming its profit margins.

But even with the sharp drop in sales, Tesla still reclaimed the global EV title from BYD. Compared to the end of 2023, BYD experienced an even bigger drop of pure battery-powered vehicles sales. Excluding hybrids, BYD sold only 300,114 EVs during the first quarter, which is quite a steep fall from the 525,409 it sold during the last three months of 2023. But unlike Tesla, BYD reported its EV sales rose 13%.

Despite the Disappointing News, GM's Performance Remains on Track

On Tuesday, General Motor reported a decline in first quarter sales due to weaker EV demand and a drop in fleet deliveries. Overall domestic retail sales rose 6% to 594,233 vehicles. However, the Envolve unit plunged 23% as temporary production constraints for midsized pickup trucks and vans reduced volume of commercial vehicles. Those issues have now been remedied. Due to the discontinuation of the Chevy Bolt, EV sales tanked 20.5% to 16,425 vehicles. However, sales of the Cadillac Lyriq rose as much as 52% compared to the previous quarter.

Moreover, Cadillac Lyriq outsold EVs from Mercedes-Benz (), BMW, Audi and Volvo. Also, its other newer EV models along with the Cadillac Lyric, namely the GMC Hummer SUV and pickup, as well as the EV versions of the Chevrolet Blazer and Silverado - combined, posted a 841% jump in sales, which is a bright spot in a disappointing quarter for GM overall. GM senior vice president and president of North American operations, assured investors that GM's brands "are all performing well.

Ford is Off to a Strong Start

Fueled by strong demand for its pickup trucks and crossover SUVs, Ford Motor reported U.S. auto sales rose 6.8% during the first quarter. As a result, Ford sold 508,083 vehicles. Ford reported that hybrid vehicles rose 42% YoY to 38,421 units sold. Moreover, Ford posted an EV sales jump of as much as 86.1%. The electric version of America's best-selling pickup, F-150, the Lightning, reported an 80% sales rise with 7,743 trucks sold. By the looks of it, Ford started the year on a strong note.

Ford and GM already scaled back their EV production plans as the growth pace of EVs has slowed down, but they are certainly not giving up on EVs. Moreover, both Chinese and Western EV makers threaten to disrupt the long-term Tesla narrative.

DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investing advice.