Is The US Going To End DEAD LAST In Vehicle Electrification?

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I just read Paul Fosse’s article on the rapid rise of Chinese cars and electrification in Brazil, where the share of pure electric vehicles (BEVs) has almost caught up with the BEV share in the United States. Then we’ve got Juan Diego Celemín Mojica’s recent report on the ridiculously fast vehicle electrification in the country of Uruguay. It has risen to 50% BEV share! (The US, for comparison, was at 5.9% in the first half of 2026.)

This is a story we’ve been covering for years now, so nothing here is going to be a shock surprise to anyone, but as I was getting to the end of Paul’s story, I started thinking that the US could actually end up dead last in vehicle electrification. How shameful would that be?!

China, of course, is far, far ahead of us by now. It reached 45% BEV share in August. Europe, formerly ahead of China, has fallen far behind the red giant, but it is still several times better than the US, sitting at 26% BEV share in July. Okay, the other economic and automotive powerhouses of the world are far ahead of us — nothing new and no one is going to argue that. But the US has been an EV leader in the past, with Tesla starting out here, the early launch of the GM EV1 and the Chevy Volt and Bolt, and leadership especially from the state of California.

However, we see clear trends elsewhere now. Electric cars — especially from Chinese brands — are getting more popular very quickly in Asia, Australia, and South America. Perhaps in Africa too. There’s no doubt about it — the most competitive EVs come from China, and those vehicles are starting to beat gas-powered and diesel-powered cars in cost, capability, and consumer desire. Some markets are already changing fast, and we have to assume this trend will soon spread to other markets in South America, Asia, Africa, etc.

One issue with the US is there’s extreme protectionism against Chinese companies, and against other companies as well. It doesn’t seem like there’s any real chance of that changing anytime soon. So, these more competitive, more compelling electric vehicles are effectively being blocked from the US market. In the meantime, policy changes and automaker apathy or animosity toward EVs have led to a withdrawal in the EV market and EV projects getting canned. Canada, which has long linked its auto market with the US market, is opening itself up to Chinese EV imports. African countries are realizing it makes much more sense to cut their dependence on oil and support their local economies. Which country in the world is blocking EV growth and trying to tamper down EV momentum more than the US? I don’t think there is one! Even Russia is reportedly catching on and adopting competitive Chinese EV models.

If current trends continue, it’s very easy to see the US being the last country in the world — not just the last major auto market or major economy — to electrify its light vehicle market. Do you think that will be the case? Or do you think I’m going overboard and have a retort to offer?