EV prices rose for the first time in 2026, and the discounts are why

The average US electric vehicle sold for $56,126 in July, up 1.6% on a year earlier and the first rise of 2026, according to Kelley Blue Book. Automakers cut EV incentives by 24.3% year on year after pulling models and shrinking supply.

The average electric car in the United States sold for $56,126 in July. That is 1.6% more than a year earlier and 1.2% more than June, and it is the first increase of 2026 after prices had fallen every month since December, according to Kelley Blue Book.

The sticker is not what moved. Manufacturer discounts on EVs fell to $6,626 in July, down 24.3% on the same month last year, so buyers simply paid closer to the asking price.

Electric cars are still discounted far harder than anything else on the forecourt. Incentives run at 11.8% of the transaction price against 6.4% across the industry, with Tesla at 10.4%.

Automakers can pull back because they cut supply first. A dozen EV models have been discontinued in the US this year as tariffs, the lost tax credit and import costs reshaped the market.

“Automakers have less excess inventory of EVs,” Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry, told Business Insider. “They don’t have to spend as much on incentives, and they don’t have to negotiate on price as much. It gives car companies more pricing power.”

The whole market is drifting upwards. The average new vehicle went for $49,855 in July, up 1.9% year on year and the highest figure of 2026.

One caveat sits inside the EV average. Luxury buyers are disproportionately likely to buy electric, according to K.C. Boyce of research firm Escalent, which pulls the number up regardless of what is happening to prices.

Cheaper cars are coming to push it back down. Slate’s stripped-out pickup, priced at $24,950, is due to start deliveries later this year.

Ford’s Fathom pickup starts at $28,350 before destination, reaching $29,945 on the road. Escalent found buyers define an affordable new car as $32,000 to $48,000, so both land underneath it.

The firm’s most useful finding is not about price at all. Bundling a home charger and its installation with a new EV shifted how affordable buyers judged it by as much as taking $8,000 off the sticker.