Electric vehicle sales dropped in October following the expiration of a $7,500 federal tax credit, with top car brands including Ford (F) seeing significant declines after a surge in sales in September.
“October marks the start of a reset period: one defined less by incentive-driven urgency and more by buyers motivated by genuine interest in EV ownership,” Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, wrote in a blog post this week.
Ford’s (F) EV sales fell 24.8% Y/Y in October. This included a 17% drop in F-150 Lightning sales and a 12% decline in sales of its Mustang Mach-E crossover.
Honda’s (HMC) EV sales in the U.S. slid 4.8% Y/Y in October. Notably, it sold just 806 Prologue all-electric SUVs for the month, down 80.5% Y/Y.
U.S. sales of Hyundai’s top EV models also dropped in October from a year ago, with Ioniq 5 down 63%, Ioniq 6 down 52%, and Nexo down 50%. Kia’s U.S. sales of its EV9 and EV6 SUVs fell about 66% and 71%, respectively.
EV sales in the U.S. jumped in September, as buyers rushed to claim the $7,500 tax credit for EV leases and purchases ahead of its Sept. 30 expiration.
“In the near term, continued month-to-month volatility in BEV sales and market share is expected,” S&P Global Mobility noted. “EV share advanced as anticipated from July through September, but a significant drop in adoption is likely in Q4 2025.”