Conventional hybrids gained market share to reach 16% of new U.S. light-duty vehicle sales in the third quarter of 2026, according to an October 19 analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles lost share compared with a year earlier.
Omdia estimates cited in the analysis put battery-electric vehicles at 6% of sales, down from 10% in the third quarter of 2025. The plug-in hybrid share fell to 0.7% from 1.8%. Together, conventional hybrids, battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids accounted for 23% of new light-duty vehicle sales, compared with 24% a year earlier.
The categories have different implications for electricity demand. Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles draw electricity from the grid. Conventional hybrids use liquid fuels and do not connect to the grid.
The New Clean Vehicle Credit and Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit for buying or leasing new electric vehicles expired on September 30, 2025. Conventional hybrids were not eligible for those credits. Battery-electric vehicles had reached a record 12% of new light-duty vehicle sales that September, immediately before the credits expired.
Sales shares also differ from the makeup of the entire vehicle fleet. In 2024, the latest year for which EIA had fleet-wide data, electric vehicles represented 2% of all registered U.S. light-duty vehicles.
