Edmunds’ February snapshot of EV share at 6.5% of new sales — down from 7.4% for calendar 2025 — is the demand-side companion to Monday’s CAFE politics. Ending the up-to-$7,500 consumer credit already changed math for mainstream buyers; a softer federal efficiency curve reduces pressure on automakers to push EVs into reluctant segments. Share dips can reverse with cheaper models and more chargers. They can also harden if gasoline trucks remain the profitable default. Policy is only one lever beside rates and metal prices. Dealers will say the quiet part: customers buy monthly payment and range anxiety first, ideology second. AP’s Edmunds citation and the CAFE preview agree policy is leaning against EV mix near term. EV advocates say better products can still grow share even without credits. Edmunds data cited in AP’s package put EVs at 6.5% of new sales in February, down from 7.4% for 2025. Credit removal and CAFE easing both lean against mix.

AP’s Edmunds citation and the CAFE preview agree policy is leaning against EV mix near term.

Associated Press cites Edmunds data putting EVs at 6.5% of new sales in February, down from 7.4% for 2025, and pairs that slip with a CAFE preview that leans against EV mix near term — a frame Washington Examiner coverage also tracks in the administration’s production pitch. EV advocates say better products can still grow share even without credits.

Credit removal and a softer mileage path both change the internal math on which powertrains clear hurdle rates. If the 6.5% print becomes a trend rather than a blip, Detroit’s mix debates and utility planning assumptions will shift with it.