(NAFB) – Sales growth of both electric and hybrid vehicles outpaced overall market performance in the first quarter of 2021.

Electrified vehicles – automobiles featuring large battery packs and electric motors in the propulsion system – accounted for 7.8 percent of the total U.S. market, up from 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book released the data that finds electrified vehicle sales growth of 81 percent far outpaced industry growth.

Sales of electric vehicles – battery only – grew by 44.8 percent year over year, reaching nearly 100,000 sales in the quarter, which is a record. Sales of hybrid vehicles outpaced both the market and electric vehicles, doubling to more than 200,000 in the quarter.

Hybrid sales are increasing more quickly as sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles jumped by 106 percent in the first quarter of the year. The overall automobile market increased by 11.4 percent in the quarter.