New EV Sales Dropped 28%. But Used EVs Are Booming.

Home News Sales New EV Sales Dropped 28%

What's Happening

The new EV market is struggling after the end of the tax credit in September. But that doesn't tell the whole electrification story. Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs Tim Levin By : Tim Levin Mar 26, at 6:40pm ET "/> Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail copy Share Comment The end of EV tax credits and other pro-electrification regulations continued to put a damper on new EV sales in the first quarter of 2026. But that's only part of the story: Used EVs are booming, according to new industry data out this week.

Why This Matters for EV Owners

• First, let's unpack what's going on with new electric cars
• Cox Automotive says that around 213,000 new EVs were sold in the first three months of the year, down 28% year over year and 9% from Q4 of 2025
• EV market share landed at an estimated 5
• 8% of sales in Q1, matching Q4's share

The Bigger Picture

That's a decline of about two percentage points year over year, and it's well below the nearly 12% share we saw during Q3, when people rushed to claim the tax credit in its final days. "The key theme is a market in transition," Cox's director of industry insights, Stephanie Valdez Streaty, said during a presentation on Wednesday. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is one of the amazing used EV deals to be had right now. Photo by: Hyundai It was clear that that pull-forward effect would impact sales, but that should become less of a factor as time goes on. In the coming months, we'll get a better sense of where that market share may level out, based on consumer appetite for the EVs automakers continue to sell.

EV Comparison: How Do These Models Stack Up?

Among these models, the Tesla Model 3 Long Range leads in efficiency at 14.4 kWh/100km, while the Tesla Model 3 Long Range offers the longest range at 602 km WLTP.

Model	Battery	WLTP Range	Efficiency
Tesla Model 3 Long Range	75 kWh	602 km	14.4 kWh/100km
Tesla Model Y Long Range	75 kWh	533 km	16.9 kWh/100km
BMW iX xDrive40	71 kWh	425 km	19.5 kWh/100km
Hyundai IONIQ 5 Long Range	77 kWh	507 km	16.8 kWh/100km

Data sourced from EVRoutes' vehicle database covering 60+ EV models. Ranges are WLTP-rated and real-world results may vary by 10-20% based on driving conditions.

What to Watch Next

That will also depend on the volumes car companies decide to produce, and how hard they choose to push EVs versus other powertrains. More high-quality EVs coming into play this year, like the new Chevy Bolt and BMW iX3 should lift sales, but more cancellations could mute the effect. Cox says its share of the EV market is up to over 50% again, after a dip last year. And its share of the entire car market held steady at 3.