Happy Friday, and welcome to Critical Materials, your source for the biggest stories shaping the future of the auto industry.

Every Friday, we break down the week’s biggest EV news, keep you up to speed on the cars we’re testing, and recap must-read stories from around the web on driverless cars, batteries, charging, and more.

– Today’s email was written by Suvrat Kothari, Rob Stumpf, Tim Levin, and Maddox Kay.

Now that most car companies have reported their first-quarter sales, we can definitively say it was a rough start to the year for the U.S. electric car market.

Here are five takeaways to help wrap your head around the EV market right now:

Americans bought some 216,000 new electric cars in the first three months of the year, according to Cox Automotive’s latest estimates out Friday. Sales plunged 27% a year over year. 

All the policy whiplash has dealt a one-two punch to the electric market—by dampening consumer interest in EVs and eliminating much of the pressure for carmakers to sell them. Car companies are teasing out where the new normal for EV demand will land.

Stellantis experienced well over 80% declines across the Fiat 500e, Jeep Wagoneer S, and Dodge Charger EV. (Taken together, it sold under 500 of those models combined.)

Audi’s EV sales plunged by nearly 90%, according to Cox. Honda fell 65%. Kia was down by nearly 40%, also according to Cox’s estimates. The Korean automaker told InsideEVs that it has prioritized combustion-vehicle production at a plant that makes both ICE cars and EVs. 

Most brands saw EV sales drop in this rocky environment, but some fared better than others. Cadillac was up about 20% in Q1, the result of a large and growing lineup. Rivian was up year over year. Hyundai also managed to stay just about flat after it slashed the price of the Ioniq 5 by nearly $10,000. So some of the companies that were most committed before are very much still in the game.

Toyota was a sneaky winner of Q1. Sales of the bZ nearly doubled year on year, surpassing 10,000 units and cementing Toyota’s crossover as the country’s best-selling non-Tesla EV. Toyota has been aggressive with its incentives, and the bZ has much improved for the 2026 model year, making this a great value.

It was both a good and a bad quarter for the market leader. Its U.S. vehicle sales fell 8.4% year over year, according to Cox, largely due to a steep 40% drop for the Model 3. (And Q1 of 2025 wasn’t exactly a quarter to write home about either.) It shows continued weakness for Tesla’s car business. 

But the drastic pullback among rivals is doing wonders for Tesla’s market share. For most of the modern EV era, Tesla's market share steadily dropped as the market expanded. Now that the EV market is contracting, the opposite is happening. 

Tesla claimed 54.2% of America’s electric market in Q1, Cox says, up from 43.2% during the same period last year.

EV sales surged in Q3 as buyers rushed to claim the tax credit, resulting in over 10% EV market share that quarter. Then sales tanked. In the two quarters that followed, the share of EVs in the overall car market has been flat at around 6%, suggesting that the worst of the fallout is behind us.

“EV sales in Q1 were lower by 7.8% compared to the previous quarter, an improvement and suggesting the sales drop after government-backed incentives were terminated has slowed,” Cox analysts wrote on Friday.

Where will things go from here?

What happens next depends a lot on the auto companies themselves. Especially with the tax credit out of the picture, being aggressive with EVs generally means taking a hit to margins in the near term. 

There are other headwinds and tailwinds I’m watching too. Over the coming months, the pull-ahead effect from Q3 will dissipate. Dealer stock of the recently discontinued EVs will dwindle. And dazzling new models like the BMW iX3 and Rivian R2 will potentially give a boost to both volumes and vibes.

-Tim Levin

Get up to speed on the news that caught our eye this week:

BYD wants to hit Canada fast and hard. The Chinese brand fully intends to take advantage of the easing of import restrictions for Chinese cars and has plans to add 20 dealerships in 2026.

Hyundai unveiled its new Ioniq brand for China. Two new concepts have debuted for China: Earth and Venus.

China may be the current king of megawatt charging, but the U.S. is starting to get its own. The only problem? Automakers aren't exactly pumping out cars here that can accept all that power.

Polestar says that used EV sales are through the roof thanks to high gas prices. Its CEO says used-car sales jumped 24% last quarter, outpacing overall sales growth of 7%.

It turns out Tesla might still be working on a lower-cost EV that isn't a derivative of the Model 3 and Y after all. Tesla reportedly has been meeting with suppliers to help source parts for the car, which is expected to first kick off in China and potentially expand to the U.S. and Europe at a later date.

Speaking of Tesla, every wonder how much it costs to launch your own Supercharging station? An online configurator is finally up, and if you want an eight-car setup with Tesla's newest tech, it'll run you a cool $940,000 (plus usage fees).

Say goodbye to the Volkswagen ID.4. The Germans have decided to kill off the electric SUV in the U.S.—until an unspecified replacement comes along—and use the manufacturing capacity to build more gas-powered SUVs. 

Waymo hates potholes too. Its robotaxis are now tracking their locations and sharing that data with cities (so they can be repaired more easily) and Waze users (so you can avoid hitting them).

The EV truck company Windrose delivered its first truck in the United States. The Global E700 electric truck can use two CCS chargers at once to top up its 705-kilowatt-hour LFP battery.

-Rob Stumpf

Kia’s big announcement this week is aimed at America’s uneven electric vehicle adoption and a seemingly endless love affair with big trucks and SUVs. 

The three-row Telluride SUV will get an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) version in 2029, the automaker said at its Investor Day in Seoul. Kia is also developing a body-on-frame pickup truck, and that, too, will come in an EREV variant alongside a traditional hybrid trim.

With that, Kia joins a rapidly growing club. Ford, Jeep, Ram, Scout, and Hyundai have all confirmed EREVs for the U.S., making this the new frontier in automakers’ electrification goals. Here’s a look at all the upcoming EREV models:

EREVs include e-motors and a high-voltage battery, and also a backup combustion engine that can recharge the battery. The e-motors always drive the wheels, and owners can do both: plug in the battery or refuel at the gas station like any other car. 

They address the concerns of traditional truck and SUV buyers about towing and hauling capability; EV range can drop dramatically when pulling heavy items. EREVs can solve this problem by combining combustion and battery power. 

But EREVs aren’t necessarily a silver bullet.

For example, should owners be worried about repairs? EVs are simpler, involve far fewer components, and require little to no maintenance. Combustion engines are a different story, requiring frequent, often expensive upkeep. Two powertrains create extra complexity and more failure points.

Car companies pitch EREVs as the best of both worlds. But they have already struggled to market EVs. Are automakers simply throwing an even more complicated technology at buyers who’re already cautious about electrification?

That said, EREVs have proven popular in China. American automakers are betting the same formula will resonate here, particularly with buyers who aren't quite ready to cut the cord on gas entirely.

Whether that bet pays off will be one of the more interesting storylines to watch over the next few years.

-Suvrat Kothari

I’m riding the Infinite Machine Olto this week. This roughly $4,000 “bike lane vehicle” (as its manufacturer calls it) is halfway between an e-bike and a rideable electric scooter. It goes up to 28 mph and has a Blade Runner-esque aesthetic all of its own.

Behind it are a pair of New York City-based brothers who set out to build the Tesla or Rivian of micromobility—think seamless tech integration and a ground-up design inspired by the automotive sector rather than batteries added to a bike. Electric micromobility can reduce traffic congestion and save owners time and money, so I’m excited to test more of these products and share which ones are worth it. 

Pros: Robust anti-theft protection, clever storage basket ahead of the seat 

Cons: Claimed 40-mile range seems optimistic

Stay tuned for a full review on InsideEVs soon! And let us know what you want to know about this bike.

-Maddox Kay

This week, I wrote about the Denza Z9GT. This is the car that introduces BYD’s ultra-quick “Flash” charging to Europe. It promises to recharge from 10%-97% in a previously unthinkable 9 minutes. It’s one thing to read those numbers on a screen—it’s another to watch it happen in real time.

BYD demoed the Denza’s charging performance for European media this week. And, yeah, this car absolutely rips. Check out the video above to see it in action.

Thanks for reading Critical Materials. See you next week!

-Tim Levin