The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has released its Get Connected Electric Vehicle Report Q1 2026, providing a state-by-state assessment of electric vehicle (EV) sales, registrations, charging infrastructure, and market trends across the United States.
According to the report, electric vehicles accounted for 6.3% of new U.S. light-duty vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2026, down from 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The decline represents approximately 19,000 fewer EVs sold during the quarter.
On a year-over-year basis, the U.S. EV market experienced a sharper contraction. EV registrations declined by approximately 148,000 vehicles, representing a 39% decrease in sales volume compared with the first quarter of 2025. EV market share also fell by 3.4 percentage points, while internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle market share increased by 0.5 percentage points for the second consecutive quarter. Hybrid vehicles continued to gain momentum, recording a 2.9 percentage-point increase in market share over the same period.
Despite the slowdown in sales, consumers continue to have a broad range of vehicle choices. As of the first quarter of 2026, 154 electric vehicle models, including passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans, were available for sale in the U.S., although this represents a decline from 164 models available at the end of 2025. Light trucks accounted for 86% of total EV sales, the highest share recorded to date.
The report also found that EV market performance varied across states. Compared with the previous quarter, 26 states recorded an increase in EV market share, while 23 states and the District of Columbia experienced declines.
California continued to lead the nation with 17.5% of new vehicle registrations being electric, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the previous quarter. Washington ranked second with 15.2%, followed by Nevada at 11.6%, making them the only states with EV registration rates exceeding 10%.
The Alliance also highlighted the continued gap between EV adoption and public charging infrastructure expansion. During the first quarter of 2026, the number of publicly available charging stations increased by 2%, while the number of EVs on U.S. roads grew by 3%.
Nationwide, approximately 227,747 new EVs were registered, while only 9,212 new public charging outlets were added, resulting in a ratio of 25 new EVs for every new public charging port. Overall, the United States now has 7.5 million electric vehicles in operation, accounting for 2.54% of all vehicles on the road, supported by 242,354 publicly available charging outlets, or roughly 31 EVs per public charger.
The report also noted a shift in charging network development. Non-Tesla providers installed more new fast chargers than Tesla during the quarter. Tesla’s share of new fast-charging installations declined from 55% in 2023 to 30% in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting broader participation from other charging network operators.
Looking ahead, the report emphasizes that as the U.S. EV fleet continues to expand, attention is shifting from simply deploying more charging infrastructure to improving charging efficiency. The Alliance said strategies such as vehicle-to-grid integration, optimized charging schedules, and time-of-use electricity pricing could lower charging costs for consumers, improve grid reliability, and reduce the need for costly grid infrastructure upgrades. Research cited in the report suggests optimized charging could save EV owners hundreds of dollars annually while enabling utilities to make better use of existing electricity networks.
