EIA: Hybrids Rise, BEV Sales Fall Post-Credit Expiry


   
   HOUSTON, TX (DTN) --- Hybrid electric, battery electric, or plug-in hybrid 
electric vehicles accounted for 24% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the 
United States in the second quarter, up 22% from a year earlier, according to a 
U.S. Energy Information Administration report released on Monday (7/27).

   The increase was driven entirely by hybrid electric vehicles, which 
accounted for a record 16% of light-duty vehicle sales, the report said, citing 
data from Omdia.

   Battery electric vehicles accounted for 6% of new light-duty vehicle sales 
in the second quarter, down from 7% a year earlier. Plug-in hybrid electric 
vehicle sales fell from 1.9% to 1.4% over the same period. Both declines follow 
the September 30 expiration of two federal tax credits -- the New Clean Vehicle 
Credit and the Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit -- which applied to 
the purchase or lease of new electric vehicles.

   Battery electric vehicles made up a record 12% of light-duty vehicle sales 
in September, immediately before those credits expired, according to the report.

   Despite recent gains in electric vehicle sales, the share of the total U.S. 
light-duty vehicle fleet remains small. In 2024, electric vehicles accounted 
for 2% of all registered light-duty vehicles in the United States, reflecting 
how slowly new-vehicle sales figures translate into fleet-wide change against a 
fleet of nearly 290 million registered vehicles.




(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.