Electric cars in the United States: a rebound in the third quarter
· BehindLines newsroom
Electric car sales in the United States rose in the third quarter of 2026 but remain well below their 2025 peak. Two sources, a government energy-statistics body, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the industry firm Cox Automotive, paint a similar picture, with figures that differ slightly because their estimates do not rest on the same data.
A market recovering after the shock
According to Cox Automotive, which relies on Kelley Blue Book estimates, 262,649 electric vehicles were sold between July and September. That is 6.1% more than in the second quarter and the highest volume since the third quarter of 2025. Year on year, the drop is 39.5%, a decline that was expected: at the end of September 2025, buyers had rushed in before two federal tax credits expired, making that quarter the best in the sector's history. Market share has climbed back to about 6.4% of new vehicle sales, against 5.8% in the second quarter.
Hybrids take the space
The EIA counts 23% of new light-duty vehicles as hybrid, electric or plug-in hybrid in the third quarter, against 24% a year earlier. Conventional hybrids gained ground, at 16% of sales, while battery models fell to 6% from 10%, and plug-in hybrids to 0.7% from 1.8%, according to estimates from the firm Omdia. Hybrids were not eligible for the tax credits that ended on 30 September 2025. The EIA also notes that hybrid growth has slowed since the average price of a new vehicle passed 50,000 dollars, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Who gains, who slips
Tesla accounts for more than half of electric car sales, with a 20% fall over the year, and two models, the Model Y (69%) and the Model 3 (28%), make up almost all its volume. Toyota and Lexus almost quintupled their sales, Rivian rose 46% and Subaru 31%. Stephanie Valdez Streaty of Cox Automotive believes the readjustment phase is largely behind us, while noting that petrol prices well above 4 dollars a gallon probably help.
To put the scale in perspective, the EIA recalls that in 2024, the latest year for which it has data on the whole fleet, electric vehicles made up 2% of registered light-duty vehicles.