Sales of used electric vehicles in the United States surged in the first quarter of 2026, while new EV registrations slumped following the expiration of the federal tax credit late last year.
Used EV transactions rose 12% year ovper year between January and March, according to Cox Automotive data cited by the Financial Times on Monday.
Compared with the final quarter of 2025, the increase was 17%.
The auto services company typically publishes a full quarterly breakdown of electric vehicle sales — by make and model — later in the month.
Analysts point to a combination of factors behind the jump: rising fuel prices, near-record new-car prices, and a wave of cheap pre-owned EVs hitting the market as early-2020s leases expire.
Average US petrol prices have pushed past $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, driven in part by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Research notes from Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, cited by GM board member Jon McNeill on CNBC, have flagged the price spike as a potential catalyst for broader EV demand.
Still, analysts cautioned it is too early to say whether higher fuel costs will translate into a meaningful lift in new EV sales, citing persistent consumer concerns over range and charging infrastructure.
Leasing Expirations
According to credit bureau Experian, EVs will account for 15% of all off-lease vehicles by the end of this year, up from 7.7% in the first quarter.
The wave of returning lease vehicles traces back to the Biden Administration’s introduction of a $7,500 consumer tax credit in 2022.
The credit — available for both leasing and purchasing contracts — allowed buyers to access new electric models on leases with lower monthly payments than for cheaper combustion-engine equivalents.
The lease deals powered a surge in EV purchases, with their share of the overall US auto market doubling to 5.2% between 2021 and 2022 and rising to 7.7% in 2024, according to Edmunds.
That share has since fallen back to around 6.5% this year, after the termination of the federal tax credit last September, driving consumers — and automakers — towards internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles instead.
Used EV Prices
The latest Cox Automotive data showed the average transaction price (ATP) of a used EV fell 8.5% year over year in February, to $34,821.
New EVs averaged $55,300, down 1.4%.
In the space of twelve months, the average price gap between used EVs and used petrol-powered vehicles narrowed to $1,334 from $4,923.
Some 18 of 26 premium brands now have an average used EV price below their used ICE equivalents, with Porsche, Lexus, and Toyota showing the widest gaps.
Tesla led used EV sales with more than 12,133 retail units sold at non-Tesla dealerships in February, followed by Chevrolet, Ford, BMW, and Hyundai.
A total of 30,879 used EVs were sold in the month — a 28.8% jump year over year.
New EV Sales Under Pressure
The used market’s growth contrasts sharply with new EVs, for which sales fell 26.8% year over year in February.
For the full first quarter, new EV sales are estimated to have slumped 28% year on year — still facing the effects of the federal tax credit withdrawal.
Cox Automotive‘s full-year 2025 report noted that US EV sales declined roughly 2% year over year — the first annual decline in six years, even after a record quarter was set between July and September as buyers rushed to lock in credits.
According to monthly US sales data estimates from Motor Intelligence, both pure EV makers Tesla and Rivian saw year-over-year declines in all three months of the first quarter.
Only Lucid Motors registered a year-over-year sales jump in the first quarter, driven by the Gravity SUV, which began deliveries in mid-2025 and has been ramping up since.
Ford Motor Company reported that its EV sales plunged 69.6% from 22,550 units in Q1 2025 to 6,860 in Q1 2026.
S&P Global’s 2026 automotive outlook projects battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales to grow 19% year over year globally — ten percentage points below the surge registered in 2025, amid shifting regulations and trade tensions.
Still Betting on EVs
Despite the decline in new EV sales — and a shift in EV strategies across the industry — automakers in the US are still betting on the powertrain.
General Motors‘ Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra indicated late last year that the company intends to keep pushing for better fuel economy and lower emissions across its lineup — regardless of the Administration’s plans to ease regulatory pressure on automakers.
President of GM‘s North America Duncan Aldred also recently said at an automotive forum in New York that the Detroit car giant had seen “some peaking of interest” in EVs among buyers during the past month.
A few weeks ago, GM Board Member — and former Tesla President — Jon McNeill also stated that the Mary Barra-led company “is in a pretty good position, because they designed EVs from the ground up that are pretty compelling cars.”
He compared it to other Detroit automakers, Stellantis and Ford, which according to him “just took regular gas cars and put an electric drivetrain in them — and those weren’t compelling vehicles.”
Each automaker disclosed charges of about $20 billion each as part of the restructuring of their EV businesses.
Ford is now focused on its Universal EV Platform, unveiled last August, which will underpin a $30,000 electric pick-up truck.
General Motors also warned last October of a $1.6 billion charge tied to the realignment of its EV production strategy, which jumped to over $7 billion in January.
