EV Sales Are (Predictably) Nosediving Without The Tax Credit

With the first month of sales reports coming in post-tax-credit, U.S. EV sales have taken an absolute drubbing. The highly publicized end of EV subsidies had the precise effect analysts predicted, encouraging sales in the final months of its availability (and likely leaving demand depressed for months to come). Even in cases where brands stepped in with their own incentives, the sales have essentially vanished, and as automakers flex away from electric models to ICE vehicles in the coming, we expect the segment to stay relatively cool.

Bear in mind that not all automakers report their sales figures monthly anymore, so we won’t have a clearer picture of what’s happening industry-wide until January (after Q4/full-year sales are announced). Here’s a preliminary look:

• Hyundai – Ioniq 5 sales took an absolute beating, dropping more than 60% compared to a year ago. Total Ioniq 5 sales are still up nearly 25% for 2025, so it’s not all bad news there. Ioniq 6 sales were down 52% in October and remain down 4% for the year; worse than that, it was only moving in triple-digit monthly volumes to begin with. Hyundai’s sold fewer than 10,000 of the sedans this year. Hyundai sold nearly as many Ioniq 9s as it did Ioniq 6s, but that’s not saying a whole lot…
• Kia – EV6 sales likewise dropped by two-thirds compared to last October, as did sales of the three-row EV9. EV6 sales have declined by a third in 2025 overall, going the opposite direction of the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Kia doesn’t break down Niro sales by powertrain, but the smaller crossover was up by 75% last month despite a lingering full-year sales deficit.
• Honda – It should come as no surprise that the Prologue took it on the chin in October (down 80% to just over 800 units). That was still better than the (now dead) Acura ZDX, which recorded just 25 sales last month (down from 1,200 a year ago).
• Subaru -It may surprise you to learn that Subaru was generally on pace to match its 2024 total of just over 10,000 Solterras sold in 2025, but that came to a screeching halt in October. Subaru sold just 13 of the EVs last month.

Short version: It’s a bloodbath. It likely won’t stay this ugly long-term, but we’re not expecting any big surprises from the segment any time soon. A lot of pent-up demand was just satisfied by EVs being discounted while the credit was still good, so even in cases where prices haven’t changed all that much, it stands to reason that the automakers were spending more to move metal while the feds were still picking up the tab for the discounts.

The end result may not have changed all that much for the customer, but a whole lot of potential profit evaporated overnight, and automakers would rather focus on selling models that won’t lose them money outright.

We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any other big news on the EV sales front; in the meantime, if you’re hunting for a leftover, your favorite brand might be in the mood to deal just to get it off the lot. Can’t hurt to try.

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