by Ed Maurer

Nationwide, EV sales for Q1 2026 were down 27% year-over-year, which isn’t as bad as California’s 40.2% drop! Alex Nieves writes in Politico on April 23, 2026 that “California drivers purchased roughly 57,000 EVs between January and March of this year, accounting for less than 14 percent of new cars sold in the state, according to data released Monday by the California New Car Dealers Association. That’s nearly 40,000 fewer vehicles than the same period in 2025 and represents the single worst quarter for the EV sector since 2021, a time before popular brands like Honda and Toyota offered electric models.” 

In Europe, by contrast, a surging demand for EVs was reported by Reuters: “European EV sales in Q1 2026 surged by over 33% compared to 2025, driven by over 500,000 new registrations as consumers shift away from combustion engines due to high fuel prices. Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales skyrocketed 51% in March 2026, capturing roughly 21-22% of the market in major EU/EFTA countries. Key growth is supported by re-introduced subsidies in Germany, France, and the UK.”

Draw your own conclusions for what/who is behind this striking difference in car buying attitudes.