Mikkel Christensen
Electric vehicle sales in the United States suffered a major setback at the start of 2026.
Electric vehicle sales in the United States suffered a major setback at the start of 2026.
New registration data shows a steep year-on-year decline across most automakers, although a handful of brands managed to increase their sales despite the wider downturn.
InsideEVs reported that the slowdown follows the removal of a key federal incentive that had supported EV adoption.
Sharp January decline
According to data from S&P Global Mobility cited by Automotive News, EV registrations in the U.S. fell by 41% in January compared with the same month last year.
A total of 59,802 electric vehicles were registered during the month in a market where nearly 1.2 million new cars were sold overall.
As a result, EV market share dropped to 5.1%, down from 8.3% in January last year.
Meanwhile, petrol-powered cars increased their share to 76.6%, while hybrid vehicles rose to 14.7%.
Incentive removal impact
The downturn follows the removal of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit on September 30, 2025.
InsideEVs reported that EV registrations have declined every month since the incentive ended.
Without the subsidy, fewer buyers are choosing electric vehicles, while automakers face less pressure to prioritize EV sales.
Several companies have also scaled back electric programs or canceled upcoming models.
A few brands grow
Despite the wider decline, some manufacturers recorded growth in EV registrations.
Cadillac saw registrations increase by 8.1%, while Toyota posted a 25% rise.
Lucid reported one of the biggest gains, with registrations climbing 97% compared with the same month last year.
Lexus also recorded strong percentage growth of 166%, although the brand sold 810 electric vehicles in January.
Maserati reported a 140% increase but delivered just 12 electric cars during the month.
Tesla still dominates
Tesla remained the largest EV seller in the United States despite declining sales.
The company registered 32,123 vehicles in January, representing a 26% drop compared with the previous year.
“It’s what we expected,” said Tom Libby, an analyst at S&P Global Mobility. “It’s a reset, and it’s going to be a very slow process moving forward.”
Europe moves ahead
While the U.S. market slowed, Europe continued to see stronger growth in electric vehicle adoption.
Nearly 190,000 EVs were registered across Europe in January, marking a 13.9% increase year over year.
The share of EVs in the European market rose from 14.9% to 19.3%.
Sources: InsideEVs
