Electric vehicles among all top winners in AAA car buying guide

The All Electric Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4MATIC SUV has been crowned the 2023 winner of the yearly AAA awards. All this year’s winners are non-gas-powered cars, meaning they’re either electric, plug-in electric or hybrids.

AAA releases its list every year to provide information to consumers looking to purchase a new vehicle in the coming months.

"Our research is tailored to guide consumers in making informed decisions when purchasing a new vehicle. The 2024 AAA Car Guide is here to help consumers navigate this evolving automotive marketplace by ranking and rating the newest vehicles," Megan McKernan, the Automotive Research Center manager at AAA, said.

The report covers a variety of different vehicle sizes and types, including small cars, trucks, SUVs and cars within certain price ranges.

Here are the other winners of this year’s AAA awards:

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Market for electric vehicles is growing, but only in a few markets

AAA’s study proves electric vehicles are strong contenders in today’s car buying market. Electric cars made up 18% of all cars sold in 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported.

Europe, China and the U.S. make up most of the electric vehicle market, with 95% of electric vehicles (EVs) sold in these regions, according to the IEA.

There were 14 million electric vehicles registered around the world in 2023 — 60% were in China, just under 25% were in Europe and 10% were in the United States.

European and Chinese markets have long been host to EVs, so drivers are more accustomed to driving them. The U.S. is just catching on, particularly as more companies produce electric vehicles at lower costs.

The number of EV models increased by 15% in 2023. Now, there are almost 600 models for drivers to choose from.

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Electric vehicle prices drop as the competition heats up

Certain EV producers are cutting their prices in response to the growing number of EVs being produced. As the competition heats up, companies like Tesla and Li Auto have been struggling to turn a profit on some of their EV models.

Tesla has struggled more than most, with its shares sinking 3% after the company slashed prices on some of its models. Tesla recently cut their prices by $2,000 on its Model Y, Model X and Model S cars.

In China, Li Auto also cut prices on its L7, L8 and L9 models by up to 30,000 yuan, equivalent to a little more than $4,000 USD.

EV prices as a whole have fallen 31.8% since last year, an iSeeCars study reported. This is much higher than the 3.6% decrease in prices for non-electric used vehicles.

"Used car shoppers are seeing a bit of a break in vehicle costs, but we’re still well above the pre-pandemic average used car price point of roughly $20,000, with no indication we’re going back to those levels any time soon," Karl Brauer, iSeeCars Executive Analyst, said.

"A dramatic drop in used electric vehicle values, largely driven by Elon Musk’s aggressive price cuts on new Teslas, reflects how much influence Tesla continues to have on the EV market," said Brauer.

New Teslas have dropped in price recently, but so have used versions of many Tesla models. Used Tesla prices fell by 28.9%, iSeeCars found.

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