In 2017, Tesla sold about 80,060 vehicles, compared to Toyota’s 20,936 vehicles, General Motor’s 43,893 vehicles, and Nissan’s 11,230 vehicles. Toyota’s 2018 research and development (R&D) was the highest among the three companies at ¥1,064.2 billion ($9.91 billion). Toyota, General Motors, and Nissan did not disclose their revenue from the sale of electric cars; therefore, the electric vehicles’ revenue figures provided below are estimates calculated based on the average selling price multiplied by the number of units sold.

I. Tesla: Automotive Sales & Financial Data

The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles was $8.535 billion.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 80,060 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — $1.378 billion.
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles was $17.63 billion.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 245,240 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — $1.46 billion.
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles was $19.952 billion.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 367,656 (total deliveries) less 111,728 (Europe sales) equal to approximately — 255,928 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — $1.343 billion.

II. Toyota: Automotive Sales & Financial Data

The total revenue due to vehicle sales was ¥10.03 trillion, approximately $93.46 billion based on Morningstar for Currency exchange rate.
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — average selling price $19,941 X 20,936 units = approximately $417.5 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 2,837,334 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 20,936 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — ¥1,037.5 billion ($9.66 billion).
The total revenue due to vehicle sales was ¥10.34 trillion ($96.38 billion).
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — average selling price $22,927 X 27,595 units sold = approximately $632.7 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 2,806,467 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 27,595 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — ¥1,064.2 billion ($9.91 billion).
The total revenue due to vehicle sales was ¥10.6 trillion ($98.61 billion).
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — average selling price $26,713 X 23,630 units sold = approximately $631.2 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 2,745,047 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 23,630 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — ¥1,048.8 billion ($9.77 billion).

II. General Motors: Automotive Sales & Financial Data

The total revenue due to vehicle sales was $145.59 billion.
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — (Cadillac ELR 17 units X $20,500) + (Cadillac CT6 PHEV 207 units X $27,552) + (Chevrolet Spark EV 23 units X $8,370) + (Chevrolet Volt 20,349 units X $15,581) + (Chevrolet Bolt EV 23,297 units X $21,272) = approximately $818.9 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 3,511,000 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 43,893 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — $7.3 billion.
The total revenue due to vehicle sales was $147.05 billion.
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — (Chevrolet Volt 18,306 units X $19,352) + (Chevrolet Bolt EV 18,019 units X $21,608) + (Cadillac CT6 PHEV 231 units X $31,553) = approximately, $750.9 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 3,555,000 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 36,556 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — $7.8 billion.
The total revenue due to vehicle sales was $137.24 billion.
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — (Cadillac CT6 PHEV 24 units X $55,495) + (Chevrolet Bolt EV 16,418 units X $36,028) + (Chevrolet Volt 4,910 units X $23,114) = approximately, $706.3 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 3,214,000 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 21,352 vehicles.
The total spent on R&D — $6.8 billion.

IV. Nissan: Automotive Sales & Financial Data

The total revenue due to vehicle sales was ¥5,492.1 billion ($51.16 billion).
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — 11,230 units sold X $13,203 = approximately $148.2 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 2,091,000 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 11,230 vehicles (Nissan Leaf).
The total spent on R&D — ¥495.8 billion ($4.62 billion).
The total revenue due to vehicle sales was ¥5,839.9 billion ($54.40 billion).
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — 14,715 units sold X $17,463 = approximately $257 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 1,897,000 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 14,715 vehicles (Nissan Leaf).
The total spent on R&D — ¥523.1 billion ($4.87 billion).
The total revenue due to vehicle sales was 11% less than 2018 sales, i.e., about ¥5,197.5 billion or ($48.41 billion).
The total revenue due to the sales of electric vehicles — 12,365 units sold X $28,820 = approximately $356.3 million.
The total number of vehicles sold — 1,345,681 vehicles.
The total number of electric vehicles sold — 12,365 vehicles (Nissan Leaf)
The total spent on R&D — ¥550 billion ($5.12 billion).

V. Examples of Statements Regarding Future Commitments to R&D for Electric Vehicles

In June 2019, Tesla announced that it was working on R&D of battery cells in a facility near its factory in Fremont, California. Five former and current company employees hinted back then that the new R&D focus would be on “designing and prototyping advanced lithium-ion battery cells and systems” that could enable the company to increase the production of cells.
In May 2020, Panasonic agreed to join Tesla’s solar R&D team in a long-term purchase agreement commitment to work on manufacturing “next generation of solar photovoltaic technologies.” In the new agreement, Panasonic would take care of the required capital costs for a new manufacturing plant in Buffalo (New York).
In April 2020, Toyota Motor Corporation and BYD Company Limited announced that their preparations to create a joint venture company to perform R&D of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are progressing, following their 2019 agreement. According to BYD veteran Zhao Binggen, the new venture will feature R&D technologies and capabilities from both China and Japan.
In June 2020, Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it would collaborate with five Chinese companies — Beijing Automobile Group Company, Beijing SinoHytec Company, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, China FAW Corporation, and Guangzhou Automobile Group Company to create an entity dubbed, “United Fuel Cell System R&D.” With an initial investment of 5 billion yen ($46 million), the new entity would spur R&D activities to develop fuel cells that can supply energy for electric vehicles.
In December 2019, GM China Science Lab won the R&D 100 Award for battery innovation. Its all-new high-power battery called the capacitor-assisted battery (CAB) is an excellent example of GM’s unrivaled and relentless intrapreneurship and open innovation spirit.
According to GM, the GM China Science Lab continues to play a vital role in driving GM’s global R&D efforts, to achieve “zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.”
In an interview with Tim Grewe, GM’s director of battery cell engineering and electrification strategy, Grewe asserted that GM has a modern and expanding “battery-cell R&D program and testing facility.”
Nissan recently showcased its Nissan e-4orce, a dual-motor electric vehicle at the CES 2020 held in Las Vegas. It claimed that it has no plans to bring the Nissan e-4orce to production in its existing electric vehicle production infrastructure, but to use it as a “development playground for its R&D teams.”
Nissan is committed to introducing e-Power technology in Thailand in 2020, following massive investments of about 10 billion baht, whereby some funds would go to the Nissan Technical Center Southeast Asia and an R&D hub in Southeast Asia.

Research Methodology

Your research team used the annual reports of Tesla, Toyota, General Motors, and Nissan, along with electric vehicle databases like Inside EVs and Car Sales Base to determine the total number of electric vehicles these brands have sold in the U.S. and Canada, and the total revenue from automotive car sales in North America. The vehicle sales figures were uncovered from Inside EVs, which has a detailed table showing the monthly sales of electric vehicles in North America. Unfortunately, Toyota, General Motors, and Nissan did not disclose their annual revenues from the sale of electric cars only; therefore, we multiplied the number of vehicle units sold that year per brand by the average selling price for the vehicle for that year. Using this formula, we managed to estimate the annual revenues from the sale of electric vehicles for Toyota, General Motors, and Nissan from 2017 to 2019. As provided by Cars US News, we relied on the average car sales price for 2017 through 2019. Overall, most of the information is publicly available, despite the triangulation to determine electric vehicle sales revenues.