Introduction

The first quarter of 2026 has revealed a US electric vehicle market that is splitting into two distinct trajectories: new EV sales have fallen 28 percent year-over-year to just 212,600 units following the expiration of federal tax credits, while used EV sales surged 12 percent to 93,500 units as prices converge with gasoline vehicles for the first time. Waymo has reached 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week across 10 US cities with a tenfold increase in just two years, MG Motor is preparing to launch the first mass-produced semi-solid-state battery EV in Europe by year-end, and energy analysts have declared March 2026 as the global tipping point for electric vehicle adoption driven by the ongoing oil supply crisis. For Los Angeles property owners, these trends point in a single direction: the population of EV drivers needing charging infrastructure is growing rapidly across both new and used vehicle segments, and Shaffer Construction, Inc. provides expert installation services that help residential and commercial properties capture this demand while incentives including the federal 30C tax credit and LADWP rebates remain available.

New EV Sales Drop 28 Percent in Q1 2026 While Used EV Sales Surge and Prices Reach Parity with Gas Cars

Americans purchased just 212,600 new electric vehicles in the first quarter of 2026, a 28 percent decline from 296,304 units in Q1 2025, dropping EV market share to 5.8 percent of total new vehicle sales. As Electrek reported citing Cox Automotive data, the decline is a direct consequence of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit expiring on September 30, 2025, with no replacement enacted. New EV average transaction prices remain elevated at $55,300 with 130 days of dealer inventory, 46 percent higher than gasoline vehicle supply levels, indicating that demand has softened significantly in the absence of purchase incentives.

The used EV market tells a fundamentally different story. Cox Automotive recorded 93,500 used EV sales in Q1 2026, up 12 percent year-over-year and 17 percent from Q4 2025, with the average used EV price falling to $34,821, now within just $1,300 of the $33,487 average for used gasoline vehicles. That price gap was over $10,000 as recently as early 2023, representing an unprecedented convergence that is making electric vehicles accessible to mainstream buyers for the first time. Forty-four percent of used EV transactions in February landed below $25,000, and Cox projects that monthly EV lease returns will steadily rise to approximately 50,000 electric vehicles per month through 2028 as the wave of vehicles leased under the Inflation Reduction Act's commercial leasing provision hits dealer lots. As we reported in our analysis of 300,000 off-lease EVs flooding the market, these returning vehicles carry four to six years of remaining battery warranty and are finding buyers quickly, with used EV days-to-sale at 42 days compared to 38 for combustion vehicles. Meanwhile, public charging sessions reached 141 million in 2025, up 30 percent, confirming that the growing installed base of EVs continues to drive charging demand regardless of new vehicle sales trends. For Los Angeles property owners, the used EV boom means that charging demand is diversifying beyond early adopters and luxury buyers into a broader consumer base that includes first-time EV owners who need reliable residential charging installation and convenient workplace charging options.

Waymo Reaches 500,000 Paid Rides Per Week Across 10 US Cities with Tenfold Growth in Two Years

Alphabet-owned Waymo has reached a milestone of 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week across 10 US cities, completing approximately four million fully autonomous miles weekly with a fleet of roughly 3,000 vehicles. As TechCrunch reported, Waymo's ridership has grown tenfold in less than two years, rising from 50,000 weekly rides in May 2024 to the current 500,000, and has doubled in under a year from the 250,000 weekly rides first reached in April 2025. The company now operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando, with the four most recent Sun Belt cities added simultaneously in February 2026, marking the first time Waymo expanded to multiple markets at once.

Backed by a $16 billion funding round that values the company at $126 billion, Waymo is targeting one million paid rides per week by year-end and preparing for international launches in London and Tokyo. The company's safety record across 127 million miles shows a tenfold reduction in serious injury crashes compared to human drivers. Combined with the Uber-Rivian partnership for 50,000 autonomous robotaxis and Zoox's expansion to Austin and Miami that we covered in yesterday's analysis, autonomous electric vehicle fleets are scaling toward levels that will generate meaningful demand for commercial charging infrastructure in every major US metropolitan area. For Los Angeles, where Waymo already operates and Zoox plans to launch by 2027, commercial properties positioned to serve fleet depot charging and high-utilization fast-charging needs will be increasingly attractive to autonomous vehicle operators who require reliable, high-power charging at predictable locations throughout their service territories.

MG Launches First Mass-Produced Semi-Solid-State Battery EV for European Market

MG Motor has confirmed it will bring the first mass-produced semi-solid-state battery electric vehicle to Europe by the end of 2026, following the technology's commercial launch in China where the MG4 Urban EV is already on sale starting at approximately $14,500. As Electrek reported, the SolidCore Battery technology replaces 95 percent of the conventional liquid electrolyte with a solid electrolyte that forms a protective barrier around the electrodes, delivering a 53.95-kilowatt-hour semi-solid manganese-based lithium-ion pack with approximately 530 kilometers of range under Chinese testing standards and an estimated 400 kilometers under European WLTP testing. The battery charges 15 percent faster in low-temperature conditions than conventional cells, delivers approximately 20 percent more power, and has passed both nail penetration and three-way extrusion safety tests without thermal runaway.

MG's parent company SAIC has invested in semi-solid-state cell supplier QingTao Energy for years, and the company positions itself as the first manufacturer to achieve mass production of this battery chemistry. European pricing for the MG4 Urban with SolidCore technology is expected around $31,300, though no US availability is planned due to tariff barriers. The broader significance for the EV charging market is that semi-solid-state batteries represent the bridge technology between today's lithium-ion cells and the fully solid-state batteries expected in the late 2020s, offering improved energy density, faster charging capability, and better cold-weather performance that will increase the charging speeds vehicles can sustain and, correspondingly, the power levels that charging infrastructure must deliver. For Los Angeles property owners investing in charging infrastructure, the continued advancement of battery technology reinforces the importance of installing electrical service with sufficient capacity to accommodate higher-power charging equipment as it becomes available, rather than designing installations around today's minimum requirements. Shaffer Construction's electrical load study services help property owners assess their current capacity and plan for future upgrades that accommodate the trajectory of charging technology.

Energy Analysts Declare March 2026 as Global Tipping Point for Electric Vehicle Adoption

Futurist and energy analyst Chris Meder has declared March 2026 as the tipping point for global electric vehicle adoption, projecting that the convergence of the Iran oil crisis, falling battery costs, maturing used EV markets, and expanding model availability will drive EV and plug-in hybrid market share from approximately 23 percent of global sales in 2025 to 80 percent by 2030 and 99.2 percent by 2035. As Gulf News reported, the analysis cites the Strait of Hormuz closure and resulting oil supply disruption of at least 10 million barrels per day as the catalyst that transformed the economic calculus for millions of consumers who had been on the fence about switching to electric vehicles. The destruction of 30 to 40 percent of Gulf refining capacity, confirmed by France's Finance Minister this week, is creating structural fuel price increases that analysts expect to persist well beyond any ceasefire.

The tipping point thesis is supported by converging data points across multiple markets: Edmunds reports that EV consideration has reached 23.8 percent of all vehicle research activity in the US, the highest level of 2026; home-charged EV driving costs approximately $5 per 100 miles compared to $12.80 for gasoline vehicles; and US residential electricity prices are largely sheltered from the natural gas price increases that accompany the oil crisis because regulators set rates annually. As we discussed in our coverage of the Iran oil crisis driving EV interest to new highs, the conflict has become what one analyst described as the biggest salesman the electric vehicle industry has ever had, and the longer fuel prices remain elevated, the more consumers convert consideration into purchases. For Los Angeles property owners, this accelerating adoption curve means that the window to install charging infrastructure ahead of peak demand is narrowing, and properties that act now will have a competitive advantage over those that wait until charging becomes a baseline expectation rather than a premium amenity.

LADWP Residential EV Charger Rebates Stack with Federal Tax Credit for Up to $2,500 in Savings Before June 30 Deadline

Los Angeles property owners have a limited-time opportunity to combine two separate incentive programs for maximum savings on residential EV charger installations: the LADWP Residential EV Charger Rebate Program, which provides up to $1,000 for a qualifying Level 2 charger plus $250 for a dedicated EV meter, and the federal Section 30C tax credit, which covers 30 percent of installation costs up to $1,000 for residential properties. As detailed on the LADWP program page, income-eligible customers participating in LADWP's Senior Citizen, Disability Lifeline, or EZ-SAVE programs qualify for an additional $500, bringing the maximum LADWP rebate to $1,500. Combined with the federal credit, total savings can reach $2,500 or more depending on installation costs and eligibility.

The critical constraint is timing: the federal 30C tax credit expires on June 30, 2026, with no extension pending, and the charger must be fully installed and placed in service before that date. As we detailed in our coverage of the 30C deadline and its implications for property owners, electrical work, permitting, equipment procurement, and utility coordination can consume weeks or months, meaning that homeowners who want to capture the combined incentive need to begin the process now. LADWP requires that chargers be network-capable with SAE J1772 or SAE J3400 connectors, installed by a licensed electrician with proper permits, and the account holder must be on an active LADWP residential rate plan. Shaffer Construction manages the complete residential EV charger installation process for Los Angeles homeowners, from initial electrical assessment through permitting, installation, and documentation for both the LADWP rebate application and federal tax credit filing, ensuring that clients capture the full available incentive before the June 30 deadline.

Conclusion

The data from Q1 2026 confirms that the electric vehicle transition is entering a new phase defined by the used vehicle market rather than new vehicle sales. While new EV sales have declined 28 percent in the absence of federal purchase incentives, the 93,500 used EVs sold in Q1 at prices approaching parity with gasoline vehicles represent a fundamental shift in accessibility, and the 141 million public charging sessions recorded in 2025 demonstrate that the existing EV population is generating steadily increasing infrastructure demand. Waymo's achievement of 500,000 weekly rides with tenfold growth in two years, MG's imminent European launch of the first mass-produced semi-solid-state battery vehicle, and the declaration of March 2026 as the global EV adoption tipping point all reinforce that electrification is accelerating even as the US new vehicle market adjusts to the post-incentive landscape.

Ready to capture available incentives before the June 30 federal tax credit deadline and prepare your Los Angeles property for accelerating EV charging demand? Shaffer Construction, Inc. provides expert design, permitting, and installation services for residential and commercial charging systems, electrical load studies, and complete project management that helps you maximize LADWP rebates and federal tax credit savings.

Shaffer Construction, Inc.
325 N Larchmont Blvd. #202
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Phone: (323) 642-8509
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.shaffercon.com