A corner of the U.S. electric vehicle market just cracked wide open, and one automaker is moving faster than almost anyone expected to fill it.
The numbers that landed this summer are stark, and the consequences for drivers shopping below $40,000 are already taking shape.
The first half that put Detroit’s EV ambitions under a microscope
GM’s electric vehicle sales in the U.S. fell 32.8 percent in the first half of 2026 , with Q2 alone down 33 percent to 30,828 units.
That is not a rounding error. It is the kind of drop that reorganizes a market.
The decline came partly because many buyers rushed to purchase electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2025, expecting the Trump administration to end a tax credit of up to $7,500.
The disappearance of that subsidy hit the affordable end of the lineup hardest, and GM felt it most acutely across almost every model it sells.
The models that fell the furthest and the one that held on
The Chevy Blazer EV posted the biggest loss in the first half of 2026, falling 75 percent. GM sold 12,736 electric Blazers in the first half of 2025, compared to only 3,166 so far this year.
The GMC Hummer EV also saw a sizable 54.9 percent drop, from 7,987 units in the first half of 2025 down to 3,601 in 2026.
The new Bolt EV offered a relative bright spot among Chevrolet’s electric models, but even it could not offset the broader collapse across the portfolio.
GM CEO Mary Barra said in January that GM is working on a hybrid and plug-in hybrid strategy, but has given no production timeline.
That acknowledgment makes clear that pure battery sales alone are not enough right now.
Why the affordable slot matters more than ever in this market
The exit of the federal credit did not kill interest in EVs. It killed interest in EVs priced above what most families can absorb without a subsidy cushion.
The EV3 should deliver a new, relatively affordable choice at a time when the U.S. EV market still very much skews toward premium pricing.
Buyers who needed something closer to $35,000 had almost nowhere to turn. The options have thinned steadily, and shoppers hunting for a deal found used EV lots filling with off-lease stock rather than competitively priced new entries.
The Volvo EX30 was pulled from the U.S. The Chevy Bolt disappeared for a few years before returning. The sub-$40,000 segment became a near-vacuum, and the brands that spotted it earliest are now moving.
The Kia EV3 is the vehicle most shoppers in this price band have been waiting for
The all-new 2027 Kia EV3 made its North American debut at the New York International Auto Show, setting a new benchmark as the most attainable model in Kia’s growing electric vehicle lineup.
Sales will begin in late 2026; pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date. Kia expects the U.S.-spec EV3 to deliver up to 320 miles of range, a figure that applies to the 81.4-kWh battery with front-wheel drive.
The more affordable entry-level trim carries a 58.3-kWh pack targeting a shorter range suited to daily use.
Kia has not announced official U.S. pricing , but the 2027 Kia EV3 is expected to start at around $35,000 in the base trim, a price point that, if confirmed, puts it below most rivals in the segment with comparable range.
It also arrives as Hyundai Motor Group is pulling off a broader coup. Industry sales estimates indicate Hyundai Motor Group could finish the first half of 2026 with approximately 920,873 vehicles sold, while Ford is projected to reach roughly 993,852 units, leaving fewer than 73,000 vehicles between the two manufacturers.
The group that was a footnote in U.S. rankings a decade ago is now within striking distance of third place overall.
What this shift means for anyone shopping an EV before year’s end
Kia is not the only one sensing the opening. The EV3 has been on sale in other markets since 2024 , where it has made a name for itself due to its value proposition, and the 2027 model is expected to start at around $35,000 in the U.S.
Kia officially pulled the plug on the larger EV4 sedan , and the brand has also discontinued the sporty EV6 GT in the U.S., meaning the EV3 carries much of the weight of the brand’s affordable EV push in this market.
For anyone who has been watching incentive spending climb across the industry as brands fight for shrinking demand, the EV3’s launch is a different kind of play: a lower base price rather than a bigger rebate.
If GM’s first-half EV slump signals where the old playbook is breaking down, Kia’s bet on price and range together may be the clearest answer yet to what the next chapter of U.S. EV sales actually looks like.
