Published:
Pain at the pump could make consumers more hesitant to buy new gas-guzzlers and more likely to consider electric vehicles. But the first four weeks of the Iran conflict haven’t been enough to spark a big behavioral shift.
First-quarter U.S. EV sales are still expected to be down 28% compared to a year earlier, according to the research firm .css-8459s-OverridedLink.css-8459s-OverridedLink:any-link{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:var(–color-interactiveLink010, interactiveLink010);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:var(–color-interactiveLink010, interactiveLink010);}.css-8459s-OverridedLink.css-8459s-OverridedLink:any-link.css-8459s-OverridedLink.css-8459s-OverridedLink:any-link svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveLink010, interactiveLink010);}.css-8459s-OverridedLink.css-8459s-OverridedLink:any-link:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:var(–color-interactiveLink020, interactiveLink020);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:var(–color-interactiveLink020, interactiveLink020);}.css-8459s-OverridedLink.css-8459s-OverridedLink:any-link:hover.css-8459s-OverridedLink.css-8459s-OverridedLink:any-link:hover svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveLink020, interactiveLink020);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink{display:inline;color:var(–color-interactiveLink010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference){.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink{transition-property:color,fill;transition-duration:200ms,200ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1),cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink{transition-property:color,fill;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1),cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1);}}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveLink010);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:hover:not(:disabled){color:var(–color-interactiveLink020);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:hover:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveLink020);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:active:not(:disabled){color:var(–color-interactiveLink030);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:active:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveLink030);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:visited:not(:disabled){color:var(–color-interactiveVisited010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:visited:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveVisited010);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:visited:hover:not(:disabled){color:var(–color-interactiveVisited010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:visited:hover:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveVisited010);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:focus-visible:not(:disabled){outline-color:var(–outlineColorDefault);outline-style:var(–outlineStyleDefault);outline-width:var(–outlineWidthDefault);outline-offset:var(–outlineOffsetDefault);}@media not all and (min-resolution: 0.001dpcm){@supports (-webkit-appearance: none) and (stroke-color: transparent){.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:focus-visible:not(:disabled){outline-style:var(–safariOutlineStyleDefault);}}}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:any-link{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:var(–color-interactiveLink010, interactiveLink010);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:var(–color-interactiveLink010, interactiveLink010);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:any-link.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:any-link svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveLink010, interactiveLink010);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:any-link:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:var(–color-interactiveLink020, interactiveLink020);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:var(–color-interactiveLink020, interactiveLink020);}.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:any-link:hover.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink.css-1y1y9ag-OverridedLink:any-link:hover svg{fill:var(–color-interactiveLink020, interactiveLink020);}Cox Automotive. Tesla TSLA, the U.S. EV leader, is expected to sell 4.6% fewer cars versus than in the same period a year before, Cox estimates.










