Electric cars came to be seen as the future in the USA. Now, they run the risk of short-circuiting. Policy changes, tariffs and disruptions to supply chains have raised fears of a deep freeze in the sector — which is preparing for an “electric vehicle winter”.
Electric vehicles face a perfect storm in the US — and this threatens to throw the industry into a true “winter”.
A combination of policy changes support and tariffsand convulsions in supply chain led builders who previously set ambitious targets for electric vehicles to review strategies, lay off workers and reinforce their commitment to vehicles hybrids and gasoline.
This “winter” of trams is now go globaland particularly affecting Tesla, says .
Both the US and China registered a sharp drop in sales electrical after reduce public support. Tesla’s sales in China reached their lowest value since 2022 in January, and Elon Musk’s manufacturer is also facing difficulties in the US and Europe.
Electric vehicle sales across the automotive industry fell 3% across the world in January, compared to the same period last year, according to data from Benchmark Intelligence published on Friday, at a time when policy changes in the US and China threaten to throw the sector into a prolonged “freeze”.
In North America and China, sales fell 33% and 20%respectively, last month. In the US, sales of electric vehicles have plummeted since the elimination, in September, of the tax credit of 7,500 dollars for new electric vehicles, and several CEOs and industry experts have warned that the The next few years will be busy.
In China, trams accounted for around half of all vehicles sold last year.
But Chinese companies also face challenges of their ownafter the Government had advanced to the end of an important tax exemption when purchasing electrical equipment and having adjusted the recovery programs, making it less generous for battery-powered vehicles.
To maker of Elon Musk sold less than 20,000 vehicles in Chinin January, according to the China Passenger Car Association, the lowest value since the end of 2022.
Unlike many other western builders in China, Tesla has largely managed to stop the wave of local competitors and protect its share in a market that is the largest in the world.
Still, the slowdown in the electric market and the lack of new products (discounting updates and variants, Tesla has not launched a new model in China since the Model Y, in 2021) left the North American company more vulnerable.
Industry data released last week by suggests that, in January, the Model Y was surpassed by more than double the YU7 da Xiaomia model that has been widely hailed as a serious rival Tesla’s best-selling electric car when the smartphone maker launched it in June last year. Within 3 minutes of launch, the company received .
And last year, the BYD took the biggest seller crown from Tesla world of battery-powered vehicles, although the Chinese company has also seen its sales fall 30% in Januaryin year-on-year terms, signaling a difficult start to 2026.
Outside of China, the scenario is also not encouraging for Tesla. The company continues to be debated in Europeafter having faced, last year, a strong protest due to Musk’s interventions in politics local.
In November 2024, after the collapse of the then center-left coalition of Olaf ScholzGerman Musk and . In January last year, he called on Charles III to dissolve parliament, and criticized the prime minister Keir Starmer — that .
Despite a recovery in some marketsLike Spain and Italy, in January, Tesla registrations collapsed 42% in France and dropped to just 82 cars in Norway.
Not UKwhere Tesla’s Chinese competitors do not face tariffs, the BYD sold four times as many cars than Tesla last month after the Austin-based construction company’s filings fell by half. In 2025, BYD sold, for the first time, more 100% electric vehicles the battery than Tesla.
The persistent drop comes despite Europe being one of the few regions to record, so far this year, a increased demand for electric. The sales grew almost 25% in Januaryin year-on-year terms, according to Benchmark figures.
Tesla’s struggles in China and Europe mean its attempt to return to growth after two years of annual sales declines is off to a rocky start. troubled.
The company also went through a complicated period in the USA since the end of the tax credit: sales in the last quarter of 2025 fell 15% compared to the previous year, according to data from Cox Automotive, although January sales were just 2% below last year.
Tesla is far from being the only construction company American company feeling the impact of the “winter” of trams. Detroit’s Big Three — Ford, GM and Stellantis — have jointly announced more than $50 billion in charges associated with their electric vehicle businesses in recent months as they shift gears to sell more gasoline and hybrid cars.
In January, they were sold just 90,000 electric vehicles in North America, according to Benchmark data.
Still, this “tram winter” may not concern management from Tesla, at a time when the company is quickly shifting focus beyond the traditional automotive industry.
Last month, Tesla announced that it will create a new production line for its humanoid robot Optimusand predicted that the future Cybercab, the company’s robotaxiwill make current transportation methods obsolete.
“We are literally saying what we are going to do and we’ve been saying this for some time,” Musk said. “I think in the long run, the single vehicles that we will manufacture will be autonomous vehicleswith the exception of the next generation Roadster”, he added.
