- California EV sales dropped 40% year over year in the first quarter.
- Tesla shed the most volume yet gained share as rivals fared worse.
- ZEV market share across the state has slipped to just 13.7%.
For years, California has set the pace for EV adoption in America, the bellwether other states watched. Now the bellwether is wobbling. Recent sales data reveal a significant decline in the state’s EV registrations through the first quarter of the year, driven by a sharp drop in demand for new Tesla models.
So far this year, a total of 57,111 zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) have been sold across the Golden State. This represents a significant 40.2 percent decline from the 95,520 sold over the same period last year, and comes on the back of an overall drop in new car registrations of 8.9 percent, falling from 457,525 to 416,810.
Read: Rivian Beat Four Major Automakers In EV Sales, And Its Biggest Model Hasn’t Even Launched Yet
The decline in demand for ZEVs means they accounted for just 13.7 percent of the total market in Q1 2026. By comparison, they had a 16.6 percent share in Q1 2022, peaking at 22 percent in Q1 2024 before falling slightly to 21 percent in Q1 2025.
Things look particularly troubling for Tesla. First-quarter registrations fell 24.3 percent to 31,958, down from 42,211 a year earlier. In raw volume, no brand lost more. In percentage terms, Tesla actually weathered the storm better than most of its rivals. Despite its own losses, Tesla’s slice of the EV pie grew from 44.2 percent in Q1 2025 to 56 percent last quarter, less because Tesla improved than because everyone else collapsed around it.
Most Brands Suffer
The collapse around Tesla is brutal. Over at Acura, ZEV sales fell from 1,279 to just 11 units in Q1, down 99.1 percent. Audi managed 210 registrations against 2,319 a year earlier, down 90.9 percent. BMW fell 58.9 percent, from 5,301 to 2,180. Chevrolet dropped 59.6 percent to 1,875. Ford was off 58.8 percent at 2,374. Honda plunged 81.6 percent to 832. Dodge mustered 16 units, down 79.7 percent. Hyundai held up comparatively well, off 30.4 percent at 3,586.
Only a handful of brands moved the other way. Lexus posted the standout figure, climbing 192.1 percent to 1,405 units, while Toyota grew 37.8 percent to 2,599 and Lucid added 37.1 percent to reach 1,315. Cadillac edged up 17.1 percent to 1,771.
Several factors have fed into the decline. Affordability concerns remain prevalent across the state, as they are throughout the country, while financing costs remain high due to current interest rates. Additionally, tariffs have driven higher prices, and overall inflation has spiked, while the phase-out of the federal tax credit has done the rest. None of this is mysterious, it all adds up.
Top 25 Selling Hybrid, ZEV, and PHEV Models
Rank Model Sales 1 Tesla Model Y 22,907 2 Toyota Camry 14,903 3 Honda CR-V 8,315 4 Tesla Model 3 5,688 5 Honda Civic 5,507 6 Toyota RAV4 4,770 7 Honda Accord 4,330 8 Toyota Corolla 3,639 9 Toyota Sienna 3,252 10 Toyota Grand Highlander 3,027 11 Hyundai Ioniq 5 2,778 12 Lexus RX 2,714 13 Ford Maverick 2,631 14 Kia Sportage 2,588 15 Toyota bZ4X 2,527 16 Hyundai Santa Fe 2,201 17 Hyundai Tucson 2,194 18 Toyota Prius 2,139 19 Mazda CX-50 1,963 20 Lexus NX 1,827 21 Kia Niro 1,805 22 Subaru Forester 1,704 23 Tesla Model X 1,652 24 Ford Mustang Mach-E 1,578 25 Rivian R1S 1,520
California ZEV Sales 2026
Make Q1-25 Q1-26 % Diff. Acura 1,279 11 -99.1 Audi 2,319 210 -90.9 BMW 5,301 2,180 -58.9 Cadillac 1,512 1,771 17.1 Chevrolet 4,641 1,875 -59.6 Dodge 79 16 -79.7 Ford 5,758 2,374 -58.8 Genesis 546 92 -83.2 GMC 913 376 -58.8 Honda 4,510 832 -81.6 Hyundai 5,156 3,586 -30.4 Jeep 147 42 -71.4 Kia 3,002 1,554 -48.2 Lexus 481 1,405 192.1 Lucid 959 1,315 37.1 Mazda 2 0 -100.0 Mercedes-Benz 3,617 654 -81.9 MINI 207 61 -70.5 Nissan 1,447 150 -89.6 Other 1,059 133 -87.4 Polestar 316 219 -30.7 Porsche 1,335 409 -69.4 Ram 1 14 1,300.0 Rivian 2,872 1,841 -35.9 Subaru 924 465 -49.7 Tesla 42,211 31,958 -24.3 Toyota 1,886 2,599 37.8 Volkswagen 2,404 445 -81.5 Volvo 636 524 -17.6 TOTAL 95,520 57,111 -40.2
