Tesla still outsells rivals

Tesla still sold more battery-electric vehicles in the United States in the first quarter than every rival combined, even as the overall electric-car market shrank. (coxautoinc.com) Cox Automotive said U.S. battery-electric sales totaled 216,399 vehicles in January through March 2026, down 27% from a year earlier and 7.8% from the fourth quarter of 2025. Tesla accounted for about 117,300 of those sales, or roughly 54% of the market. (coxautoinc.com) The gap widened because the market around Tesla got smaller. Cox said electric vehicles made up 5.8% of all new U.S. vehicle sales in the quarter, unchanged from late 2025 and far below the 10.6% peak in the third quarter of 2025. (kbb.com) Cox and Kelley Blue Book tied much of the slowdown to the end of the federal $7,500 electric-vehicle tax credit. Stephanie Valdez Streaty of Cox said the first quarter showed a “necessary reset” with sales slowing and market share shifting after incentives disappeared. (kbb.com) Tesla’s lead did not come from across-the-board growth. Cox said Tesla’s U.S. sales were lower than a year earlier, while the company regained share because many competing brands posted even steeper declines. (coxautoinc.com) The company’s lineup remains heavily concentrated in two vehicles. Kelley Blue Book said the Tesla Model Y sold 78,591 units in the quarter and the Model 3 sold 31,672, meaning those two models alone made up more than half of all U.S. electric-vehicle sales. (kbb.com) Rivals did put several nameplates near the top of the chart, but none matched Tesla’s volume. Kelley Blue Book ranked the Toyota bZ third at 10,029 sales, followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5 at 9,790 and the Chevrolet Equinox EV at 9,589. (kbb.com) A few brands still grew in the quarter from smaller bases. Cox said Cadillac, Lexus, Toyota, Rivian, and Lucid posted year-over-year gains, with Lucid helped by a new model and Toyota making its first appearance in the top 10. (coxautoinc.com) Tesla’s U.S. showing also diverged from its global delivery report. Tesla said it delivered 358,023 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter and will report full financial results on April 22, 2026. (ir.tesla.com) For now, the U.S. market looks less like a broad electric-vehicle surge than a narrower field with one company still setting the pace. Tesla sold fewer vehicles than a year ago, but everyone else, taken together, sold fewer still. (coxautoinc.com)