In just over a year, the Trump administration has managed to split the U.S. electric-vehicle business into dueling stories. In showrooms, new battery models are struggling without federal help. On used lots, they are moving quickly now that we are eight months into a gas price-spiking war Trump said would take four to six weeks.

That is the awkward policy math of 2026. Washington made new EVs more expensive when it killed federal clean-vehicle credits. Then, after the start of the U.S. war with Iran, fuel got expensive enough to make a secondhand EV look less like a climate statement and more like a good way to keep household expenses down in a souring economy.

Persistently rising gasoline prices since the start of the U.S. war with Iran have lifted used electric vehicle demand for much of the year, likely hitting an all-time high of about 127,000 units in the third quarter, Cox Automotive estimates. And with a steady supply of models coming off of lease for the next two years, combined with pricey fuel, the trend isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

“The longer gasoline stays over $4 a gallon, you get a lot more consumers willing to consider and/or pull the trigger on a used EV that’s already at a pretty attractive price point relative to a non-EV at the same age, make, model kind of basis,” Jeremy Robb, Cox’s chief economist, told Forbes .

That’s particularly true in California, the country’s top EV market, where gasoline currently averages $6.36 a gallon, according to AAA. The state’s new rebate for used EVs worth $1,750 at the point of sale, added in August, may also entice more people there to ditch gas guzzlers. By contrast, fueling with electricity is less than half the cost of gasoline.

Tesla, the dominant U.S. EV brand, is the biggest beneficiary of higher used demand.

The 19% rise for used EVs this year is also driven by simple affordability: two- to three-year-old models go for up to $20,000 less than their initial price on auto retailing sites including Carvana and CarMax. Tesla, the dominant U.S. EV brand, is the biggest beneficiary of higher used demand. Its Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover have been the best-selling used EVs for retailer Carvana through the first half of the year, followed by the Tesla Model S, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E and General Motors’ Chevrolet Bolt EV, according to spokesperson Harper Warner.

Gas-sipping hybrid models, led by Toyota, are also rising this year, with new vehicles up 22% through September. Used hybrids rose more than 30% in the year’s first half.

The plunge in sales of new EVs, down over 30% to about 700,000 units so far this year compared with the first three quarters of 2025, suggests big problems ahead for U.S. carmakers hoping to compete globally with Chinese rivals such as BYD, SAIC, Geely and NIO that dominate the electric market. Federal tariffs of more than 100% on EVs made in China keep them out of the U.S., but they’re growing rapidly everywhere else because of highly affordable prices, often below $20,000, and cheaper fueling costs. And though U.S. consumers have shown a preference for the big SUVs and pickups that GM and Ford specialize in, those models aren’t in demand elsewhere owing to high sticker prices and, increasingly, unaffordable fuel.

The used EV boom has also helped companies like ChargePoint, which designs and operates charging stations for the public, businesses and fleets, continue to grow, said CEO Rick Wilmer.

“The used EV market is on fire. There’s a lot of used models coming into the second-hand market that are coming off lease, and that’s only going to get bigger next year and even bigger in 2028,” Wilmer told Forbes . “I think you can get a used EV at a decent price parity with the equivalent gas vehicle, same type of car. And with gas prices being so high, I think that’s been the big demand driver that I think we’ve seen.”

Americans haven’t been as eager to switch to EVs historically owing to concerns about range, access to charging and higher prices for new models, averaging nearly $55,000 in September. That compares with an average transaction price of just over $50,000 for all models, according to Cox Automotive.

That’s why used EVs selling for between $25,000 and $30,000 are increasingly attractive.

“Consumers adapt to price and what they need,” said Cox’s Robb. Used EVs are “still a small part of the market, but it’s a growing part of the market–and it’s going to be growing for many years.”