Record EV Salesโ Drive GM,Ford to Q3 U.S. Auto Sales Gains
DETROIT – Strong electric vehicleโข sales propelled General Motors and Ford to increases in third-quarter U.S. auto sales, even as industry executives anticipate a potentialโ drop inโข EV demand following โคtheโฃ expiration of federal tax incentives. Cox Automotive โคforecasts total U.S. vehicle โsales rose between 4% and 7% for โthe quarter, aided byโ EV โand โplug-in hybrid sales.
The surge in EV adoption โcontributed to a record โข10% market share for โขelectric vehicles during the third quarter, with approximately 410,000 EVs sold – a 21% increase year-over-year. This โฃrepresents the โขhighest quarterly volumeโค of EV โsales ever recorded inโข the U.S. Though,โค Ford โคCEOโค Jimโฃ Farley cautioned that EV salesโฃ could fall โคto โ5% marketโ share โin October โafter the federal incentive program concluded. The incentives expired โคdue to changes enacted in โthe “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Toโ mitigate the impact of theโ expiring tax credits, several automakers are โimplementing strategies to maintain sales momentum.โข Hyundaiโ announcedโ Wednesday it is reducing pricing on its โ2026 Ioniq โข5 EV by up to $9,800 and offering a $7,500 cash incentive on 2025โ models, effectively โmatching the previous โขfederal credit.โข “We’re very โbullish โwhen it comes โขto EV sales in the โmarketplace,” said Randy parker, CEO โคof Hyundai Motor America. “There’s going to be a little bit of โa reset inโข October, probably even November, but the EV market will settle, and at that โขpoint, we view this asโค an opportunity. โฆ We’re not backing off.”
GM and Ford are also extending the benefit of the $7,500 U.S. tax credit on EV leases through programs initiated with their retail networks, whereโข the automakers’ financing arms are making down payments on EVs in dealer inventory.