Colorado new car sales plummet as cut to EV aid puts the brights on high prices

New car sales in Colorado dropped 14.7% in the first nine months of 2026 from a year earlier, more than triple the slowdown in nationwide car sales and a further sign that cuts to federal electric vehicle subsidies hit the state harder than most. 

The state’s “relatively poor results were solely attributed to a significant drop in electric vehicle sales,” according to the quarterly analysis from the Colorado Auto Dealers Association. The report added that even with an expected fourth-quarter improvement, Colorado sales will still be down 10.5% by the end of the year. 

High interest rates on loans and automakers continuing to charge premium prices for EVs relative to comparable gas models have also contributed to the 2026 slump. 

Coloradans registered 146,468 new cars through the first nine months of this year, compared with 171,677 in the same period of 2025, according to the CADA report. Ninety-one percent of Colorado new car sales are now SUVs and pickups, categorized together as “light trucks,” with only 9% of sales going to traditional sedans and smaller passenger cars. 

The dealers’ analysis is full of near-term gloom: “Consumers are increasingly downbeat on economic conditions. Vehicle sales rarely improve when consumer attitudes are weak.”

Among EV makers, Tesla remains the largest single brand in all-battery electric vehicles, and saw its Colorado sales slump nearly 27%, from 8,290 last year to 6,088 so far this year. 

The combined market share of all brands of fully electric EVs dropped from 21.8% in the first three quarters of 2025 to 10.2% so far in 2026. 

EVs lost subsidies that made them more affordable, but another major development in 2026 has been the sharp increase in gasoline prices since the U.S. began attacking Iran in the spring. Many shoppers for gas-powered cars turned to hybrids, which combine a small self-charging battery with a gas engine, and can achieve equivalent gas mileage of 40 to 50 mpg. 

The overall Colorado new car market share for hybrids rose from 13.1% in nine months of 2025 to 19% this year. 

Used vehicle sales in Colorado fell by less than 1% over the same period.

On the other end of the market, Ferrari sales are up 31% — to a total of 17 this year for the brand whose entry-level models start at $266,000. 

Coloradans continue to be bigger fans of Subaru, Ford and Toyota than the national average. Other details haven’t changed much either: The five biggest market shares for individual models in Colorado remain the Ford F-150 pickup, Toyota Tacoma and Dodge Ram pickups, Tesla’s Model Y, and the Subaru Crosstrek.