Offering people transparent, straightforward, and affordable access to car ownership means more than just presenting a wide selection of vehicles to customers, and it goes beyond creating exceptional customer experiences.
Carvana’s mission is not only to drive people happy when buying or selling cars, but to present customers with all of the information, ease of access, and tools to make better decisions within the automotive space.
One automotive trend, quickly becoming an industry standard, is the prevalence of EVs and hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) and a quickly rising demand among drivers in the U.S. As demand for EVs rises, it coincides with a broad consumer shift in which more consumers embrace used vehicle ownership as one way to minimize their reliance on new manufacturing and the environmental impacts that go with it.
Upcycling and keeping vehicles in circulation effectively lengthens their lifespans and decreases dependence on strapped supply chains. So, by powering the trend of upcycling cars and extending their lifespans out on the road, as well as presenting a nationwide inventory that includes thousands of EVs and HEVs, Carvana is actively participating in the unfolding EV gold rush by sourcing the shovels to shoppers all across the country.
Beyond working to make EVs more accessible to people, Carvana is also working to help educate average Americans on more emissions-conscious choices. Currently, the White House has set a target goal to have EVs represent half of vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2030. By putting an average of $1,000 into each vehicle we recondition, Carvana is doing its part to sell more EVs to drivers in need, keep more EVs on the road, and in turn, make used electric and hybrid-electric vehicles accessible to even more customers. In 2021, the company sold 425,000 vehicles, meaning Carvana invested more than $425 million in keeping cars out on the road for longer, many of which are EVs and HEVs, and helped more people make more eco-conscious choices with their vehicles, going the greener route of used over relying on new manufacturing.
According to Carvana’s 2020 Online Car Buyer Report, the company saw a 24% increase in purchases of EVs year-over-year that year. In that same span of time, overall, EVs proved to sell much quicker—37 days compared to the average 70 days for other vehicles on the Carvana site—indicating the growing demand and appetite for more used EV solutions. Now, by 2022, the upward trajectory of drivers looking to swap their vehicles and either get into something more suitable, more sustainable, or more affordable continues to trend in a positive direction. In fact, in 2022 Carvana has seen a year-over-year increase in EV sales by 52 percent. And while Teslas accounted for only .04% of Carvana’s 2018 annual sales, Tesla has since seen a meteoric rise in popularity, reflecting an increase in Tesla sales by 99 percent year-over-year as compared to 2021.
More recently, the number of EVs currently in the process of being purchased on Carvana.com has nearly doubled since gas prices spiked. As mobility needs continue to shift in the wave of skyrocketing fuel prices—from drivers looking for a more affordable vehicle to those seeking additional cash, people heading back to commuting while others heading out of large metroplexes and into more rural locales, Carvana provides consumers with a great selection of affordable electric and hybrid vehicles that continues to grow, while also continuing to do its part to empower and educate car buyers and sellers on the benefits of EV ownership and help form more emissions-conscious consumer habits within the automotive industry at large.
