Honestly, if you just looked at the headlines today, you’d think the electric vehicle dream in America just hit a brick wall. People are talking about "crashes" and "collapses" like it’s 2008 all over again. But that is not exactly what's happening on the ground.
The latest ev sales news today us 2025 data shows a market that is definitely weirder than it used to be, but it’s far from dead. In fact, for the full year of 2025, Americans still bought about 1.28 million fully electric vehicles. That’s only a tiny 2% dip from the record set in 2024.
So why the panic?
Well, it’s because of how the year ended. The fourth quarter was a total disaster compared to the summer. We saw sales market share peak at over 10% in the third quarter of 2025, only to watch it fall off a cliff to about 5.8% by December. It was a wild ride, and most of it was caused by one thing: the government pulling the plug on the $7,500 tax credit.
Why the $7,500 Tax Credit Death Changed Everything
You've probably heard about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) by now. It basically nuked the federal EV tax credits on September 30, 2025.
Before that date, everyone was rushing to the dealership. It was a frenzy. If you wanted a Tesla Model Y or a Chevy Equinox EV, you had to get it before October 1st or lose out on seven and a half grand. Naturally, that pulled all the sales forward. People who were planning to buy in November or December just bought in September instead.
Then October hit. The credit was gone. The "lease loophole" that let people get around assembly requirements? Also gone.
The result was a ghost town at many EV showrooms in the final three months of the year. Cox Automotive reports that Q4 sales plummeted 46% compared to Q3. That isn't a lack of interest in EVs; it's just a lack of interest in paying $7,500 more for the exact same car than your neighbor paid three weeks ago.
Tesla is Losing Its Grip
For a long time, EV sales in the US were basically just a graph of how many cars Elon Musk could ship. That’s not the case anymore.
Tesla still wears the crown, but it’s starting to slip. In 2024, they owned nearly 49% of the market. By the end of 2025, that share dropped to about 46.2%. They sold 589,160 vehicles last year—a 7% drop from the year before.
While Tesla struggled with aging models and, let’s be real, some polarizing headlines around their CEO, Detroit started to actually show up.
General Motors is the name you need to watch. They finally figured out how to build their "Ultium" batteries at scale. GM moved about 170,000 EVs in 2025, which is a massive 48% jump from 2024. They are officially the "best of the rest," holding a solid second place behind Tesla.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV was a huge part of that, moving nearly 58,000 units. It turns out that when you make an electric SUV that doesn't cost $60,000, people actually want to buy it. Who would've thought?
Who Won and Who Lost in the 2025 Shuffle?
It wasn't a bad year for everyone. While the "Big Three" in Detroit had mixed results, some of the international brands actually had a decent run.
Volkswagen saw its sales grow by over 56%, mostly thanks to the ID.4. Honda finally got into the game with the Prologue, selling nearly 40,000 units. Even Acura had a weird year, though their Q4 was essentially zero because they were caught in the tax credit crossfire.
Then you have the luxury brands. BMW is currently out-selling Mercedes-Benz in the EV space by a factor of 2.5 to 1. BMW sold over 42,000 electric cars last year. Mercedes, meanwhile, saw their EV sales tank by 54%.
It seems like buyers are rewarding brands that make EVs look and feel like "normal" cars, rather than the futuristic, egg-shaped designs Mercedes leaned into.
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The 2025 Top 10 EV Leaderboard (By the Numbers)
- Tesla Model Y: 357,528 (Still the king, even with a 4% drop)
- Tesla Model 3: 192,440 (Basically flat growth)
- Chevrolet Equinox EV: 57,945 (The breakout star of the year)
- Ford Mustang Mach-E: 51,620 (Held steady despite Ford's overall EV struggles)
- Hyundai Ioniq 5: 47,039 (Consistent performer)
- Honda Prologue: 39,194 (Great debut year)
- Ford F-150 Lightning: 27,307 (The electric truck market is... tough)
- Rivian R1S: 24,852 (Slightly down from 2024)
- Chevrolet Blazer EV: 22,637 (Found its footing eventually)
- Volkswagen ID.4: 22,373 (Strong growth despite the late-year slump)
What 2026 Looks Like for Your Wallet
If you’re looking at ev sales news today us 2025 because you’re thinking about buying one soon, things are actually getting interesting.
The federal tax credit is gone, but the manufacturers aren't just going to let their factories sit idle. We are already seeing "private" incentives. Basically, Ford, GM, and Hyundai are just cutting prices or offering huge rebates to make up for the lost government money.
- The "Pre-Owned" Market is the Real Hero: Used EVs are actually getting affordable. Since the credit for used EVs also vanished in September, prices for 2-year-old Model 3s and Chevy Bolts have been sliding. You can find some seriously good deals under $25,000 right now.
- Infrastructure is (Slowly) Catching Up: It's still a bit of a mess, but the NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program finally started opening stations in more states. By late 2026, the goal is to have a fast charger every 50 miles on major highways. We aren't there yet, but we're closer than we were in 2024.
- New Models on the Horizon: Keep an eye out for the 2026 Chevrolet Bolt. It’s supposed to be one of the cheapest EVs ever made. Also, the Rivian R2 is the "make or break" vehicle for that company, and early pre-orders suggest it might actually give the Model Y some real trouble.
The EPA also recently signaled they are backing off some of the stricter emissions rules, which gives carmakers a bit more breathing room. They don't have to force EVs down everyone's throats as fast as they thought. This might actually be good for consumers because it means companies will focus on making EVs people want to buy, rather than just making them to hit a regulatory target.
Practical Steps If You're Buying Now
Don't panic buy because of a headline. The market is maturing.
First, check for state-level incentives. States like Colorado and California still have their own programs that can save you thousands, even without the federal credit.
Second, look at leasing. Some manufacturers are finding creative ways to bake "rebates" into lease payments to keep the monthly cost down.
Third, wait for the sales. With Q4 2025 being so slow, many dealers are sitting on 2025 models they need to move. January and February are traditionally great months to negotiate a deal on an EV that's been sitting on the lot for 90 days.
The "gold rush" of the early 2020s is over. We’re in the "show me the value" phase of electric cars now. It’s less about saving the planet for some buyers and more about whether the math makes sense. And right now, the math is starting to get a lot more competitive, government help or not.