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 RankModelSales1Tesla Model Y22,9072Toyota Camry14,9033Honda CR-V8,3154Tesla Model 35,6885Honda Civic5,5076Toyota RAV44,7707Honda Accord4,3308Toyota Corolla3,6399Toyota Sienna3,25210Toyota Grand Highlander3,02711Hyundai Ioniq 52,77812Lexus RX2,71413Ford Maverick2,63114Kia Sportage2,58815Toyota bZ4X2,52716Hyundai Santa Fe2,20117Hyundai Tucson2,19418Toyota Prius2,13919Mazda CX-501,96320Lexus NX1,82721Kia Niro1,80522Subaru Forester1,70423Tesla Model X1,65224Ford Mustang Mach-E1,57825Rivian R1S1,520 SWIPE California ZEV Sales 2026 MakeQ1-25Q1-26% Diff.Acura1,27911-99.1Audi2,319210-90.9BMW5,3012,180-58.9Cadillac1,5121,77117.1Chevrolet4,6411,875-59.6Dodge7916-79.7Ford5,7582,374-58.8Genesis54692-83.2GMC913376-58.8Honda4,510832-81.6Hyundai5,1563,586-30.4Jeep14742-71.4Kia3,0021,554-48.2Lexus4811,405192.1Lucid9591,31537.1Mazda20-100.0Mercedes-Benz3,617654-81.9MINI20761-70.5Nissan1,447150-89.6Other1,059133-87.4Polestar316219-30.7Porsche1,335409-69.4Ram1141,300.0Rivian2,8721,841-35.9Subaru924465-49.7Tesla42,21131,958-24.3Toyota1,8862,59937.8Volkswagen2,404445-81.5Volvo636524-17.6TOTAL95,52057,111-40.2 SWIPE
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