ELECTRIC AND AFFORDABLE SUVS

The sweet spot of the auto market isn’t hard to find.

- BY KYLE STOCK

A VISITOR sits inside a 2026 Nissan Leaf electric vehicle at the Orange County Auto Show.

(GARY CORONADO For The Times)

Millions of American drivers want only one thing: a smallto medium-sized SUV, with a smallto medium-sized price tag.It’s a huge, lucrative market — comprising around half of new-car sales in the U.S. — but one that few electric vehicles have managed to enter. In 2026, however, that will change. Carmakers are planning to roll out at least six new electric SUVs in the U.S. this year with price tags at or below $35,000, products that could help ease a slowdown in EV sales.

“EVs have to move more into the mass market and there are launches that are now squarely hitting that,” said Nathan Niese, Boston Consulting Group’s global lead for electric vehicles. “It’s what's going to prop up what otherwise would be a down year.”

EV sales have surged in recent years, as carmakers improved range and charging speed, while federal incentives helped entice buyers. Relatively high costs, however, remained the last speed bump to mass adoption. Of the roughly 60 electric cars and trucks for sale in the U.S. last year, only three could be had for less than $35,000; the median starting sticker price was $59,100, nearly $10,000 higher than the average price for all vehicles.

When federal subsidies disappeared in September, EV sales swooned. The message for the C-suites of Detroit was clear: Price is at least as important as powertrain preference, if not more. Many auto executives have since slowed their EV plans and shifted some production back to gas-powered models that they can build (and price) more affordably.