General Motors delivered a masterclass in how not to sell electric vehicles in 2026. In Q2, the company moved just 27,395EVs in the United States — a brutal 41% drop year-over-year. While GM’s gas trucks and SUVs kept the lights on and the company remained America’s top-selling automaker overall, its EV business is circling the drain like a Blazer EV with a dead battery.
The numbers are painful across the board. The once-hyped Chevrolet Equinox EV — GM’s supposed affordable volume player — fell off a cliff: only 6,660 units, down 62%. The Blazer EV was even worse, plunging 68% to a pathetic 2,089. These were supposed to be the EVs normal people might actually buy. Instead, they’re selling like last year’s iPhones with no charger.
The GMC Hummer EV, that $100k+ electric tank that was going to make pickup buyers go electric, managed just 1,948units — down 57%. The novelty apparently wore off faster than the range in cold weather. Even the Silverado EV couldn’t hold its own, dropping 26% to 2,266.
Cadillac’s luxury push offered the only faint green shoots. The Optiq rose 31% to 4,236 and the Vistiq climbed 15% to 2,001. The Lyriq still slipped 16% to 4,208, and the Escalade IQ was basically flat at 1,771. Nice work on the high-margin toys, but these aren’t moving the needle on the volume GM needs to justify billions in Ultium investment and factory retooling.
Add in the Sierra EV at 1,756 (+15%) and the BrightDrop van cratering 65%, and you get the full picture: GM’s EV portfolio is shrinking while its core ICE business props everything up. EVs now make up roughly 3.8% of GM’s total U.S. sales — nearly halved from a year ago.
Legacy automakers love to brag about being “#2 EV seller.” Cool story. When your total is lower than what a single strong Tesla model moves in a month and your biggest “volume” EV is getting crushed, the participation trophy feels hollow. Tax credit pull-forward effects and softening demand didn’t help, but GM’s own execution — pricing, charging experience, model appeal — clearly isn’t either.
In 2026, the EV race isn’t being won by companies still treating electric vehicles like a side project they have to do because regulators said so. GM’s gas trucks are carrying the company. Its EVs? They’re the awkward family member everyone hopes doesn’t show up to the next earnings call.