The Empirical Data On EVs In America Is Horrible, And The Scary Part Is That It's Getting Worse Not Better as 5 Facts Tell the Story

February marks the fifth year in America since federal battery-electric vehicle price supports ended. Without the crutch of "free money" to support them, EV sales have dropped dramatically. Here are some facts we pulled from a February 16th, 2026 EV Insights report from Cox Automotive. We’ll add some background and perspective based on our decades of market analysis to give the facts some perspective for our readers.

1) EV Sales Didn’t Just Step Down After September 2025, They Have Continued to Decline 
Battery-electric vehicle sales were down 29.9% from a year earlier in January. That’s bad enough, but the truth is, EV sales have not stepped down one time and settled at a lower level. Rather, EV sales were also down 20.4% month over month in January. That means the EV sales slide wasn't a one-month event following the federal tax incentives ending. It's accelerating and has spanned five months and two calendar years. 

2) The Lowly Prius Outsold All the EVs From Nearly Every Brand In January
This past January, the Prius had a ho-hum month. It was down a bit, and the month was off its typical pace somewhat. Despite the Prius having a mundane month of deliveries, the Prius outsold all of the EVs made by Chevrolet, all of the EVs made by Ford, all of the EVs made by Hyundai, all of the EVs made by Kia, and we can go on and on. Toyota, Subaru, Volkswagen, Cadillac, etc.  Toyota sold just shy of 4,000 Prius cars in January. None of the brands listed above had a total EV sales result that high. One hybrid car. On sale now for 27 years, that nobody talks much about anymore, earned higher sales than entire EV brands did.

3) EV Brands Are Sitting On Six Months of Unsold Inventory - And It’s Getting Worse
Despite EV manufacturers slashing production, closing or repurposing EV production lines, canceling EVs outright, and slow-rolling all new EV launches, EVs are piling up on lots. In January, EVs were averaging 168 days on the lot. That rounds to six months of inventory sitting around gathering dust. EV makers could stop making them right now and have enough to sell until Labor Day. The worst news is that the rows and rows of unsold EVs are not static, but they are growing. EV inventory in January was 55.8% higher than year‑earlier levels and up 24.8% month over month.

4) EVs Are Still MUCH More Expensive Than Gas and Hybrid Models
Cox reports that the EV premium over ICE vehicles is presently $7,098. This despite Tesla, which owns 61% of the EV market share in America, introducing a less expensive version of its top-selling Model Y.

5) EV Market Share in 2026 Has Dropped Back to 2022 Levels
Four years ago in 2022, EV market share in America hit 5.8% according to a Cox Automotive report summarizing the 2022 vehicle sales year. In January, Cox says that the market share of EVs was virtually identical at 6.0%. Four years, two administrations, and zero EV market share progress.

Is There Any Good News For EV Fans?
Despite the empirical evidence that EVs are quickly being sidelined by shoppers in America, there is some very loudly reported news on EVs that gives fans hope. Ford is making big promises about a “thirty-thousand-dollar EV pickup.” We’re skeptical that the new Ford EV will have an average transaction price lower than $45K, but we are rooting for the brand to pull off a miracle. Scout is doubling down on its EV pickup, which it says will be “starting” in the mid $20Ks. Rivian, which could not have been in a worse situation ending 2025 with huge layoffs and dramatically reduced sales, says its new lower-priced EVs are just about ready for market.

Which state of EVs do you envision? The one with the scary empirical data, or the one being hyped by most of the automobile and mainstream media that promises affordable, plentiful EVs are just around the corner?  Tell us in the comments below. 

John Goreham is the Vice President of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his fourteen years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. John employs grammar and punctuation software when proofreading, and he sometimes uses image generation tools. 

Images by John Goreham