US Carmakers Dump Plug-In Hybrids Like Last Season’s TikTok Dance Move

KEY POINTS

•Stellantis has discontinued five US plug-in hybrid models including Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Dodge Hornet R/T since early 2026.
•Ford and Kia have pulled plug-in hybrid versions of Escape, Lincoln Corsair, and Niro, leaving leaner American hybrid selections.
•Despite falling US plug-in hybrid sales by over 50% in January, investments ramp up in electric and extended-range EVs.

Plug-in hybrids tried to be the electric world’s training wheels but American buyers swiped left hard. In January 2026, plug-in hybrid sales plunged 51.8% Y-O-Y even as prices ballooned to an average of $70,565—like they’re gifting drivers an overpriced garage ornament. Stellantis led the exodus, canning the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, Wrangler 4xe, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Alfa Romeo Tonale, and Dodge Hornet R/T—basically their entire plug-in Tinder profile. Ford and Kia also dumped models, and Volvo quietly ghosted its S60 and V60 Recharge plug-ins while dreaming of 90-100% electrified sales by 2030. Analysts say plug-in hybrids are battery-powered Frankenstein monsters costing more than a college debt, which leaves US carmakers chasing sleek battery EVs and the new EREVs, a.k.a. electric vehicles with a gas generator backup—like crossfit for engines. Meanwhile, Chinese carmakers smile as BYD overtakes Tesla outside the US, proving plug-in hybrids were the car industry’s mullet: business in the front, extinct in the back.