US electric vehicle sales drop after $7,500 tax credit ends, hitting Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota

US electric vehicle sales dropped sharply in October after the expiration of up to $7,500 in federal tax credits for EV buyers, according to new data from several automakers.

Ford, Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota all reported steep declines in all-electric sales as many consumers had rushed to buy vehicles before the federal incentives ended under recent policy changes by the Trump administration.

Ford, the nation’s third-largest EV seller through the third quarter, said its all-electric sales fell 25% year over year in October. The Mustang Mach-E dropped 12%, while the F-150 Lightning slid 17%.

Hyundai and Kia, which had record EV sales in September, posted some of the steepest declines. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 sales plunged 63% to 1,642 units, and the Ioniq 6 sedan fell 52% to 398 units. The new Ioniq 9, which sold over 1,000 units monthly during the summer, fell to 317 units in October—down 71% from September. Kia’s EV6 fell 71% to 508 units, while the larger EV9 dropped 66% to 666 units.

Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury brand, also saw drops, with the GV60 down 54% to 93 units and the Electrified GV70 down from 154 to just 15 units.

Toyota reported it sold only 18 units of its BZ electric model in October, compared with 1,401 a year earlier and 61 in September.

Honda’s Prologue SUV saw one of the steepest drops, falling 81% to 806 units from 4,130 a year earlier.

Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker acknowledged the impact of the expired tax credit but said demand remained strong before the policy change. He added that Hyundai expects the market to “reset” as incentives fade. The company’s hybrid sales rose 41% year over year in October, helping total “electrified” sales—EVs and hybrids combined—rise 8%. Pure EV sales, however, were down 57%.

Analysts said the decline was widely expected. “With the credit now off the table, the market appears to be settling into a more natural rhythm,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds. She described October as the start of a “reset period” marked by fewer incentive-driven purchases.

Industry forecasts suggest EV market share could fall to around 5% from the 10–12% recorded in September, according to Ford CEO Jim Farley.

Tesla and General Motors, which do not report monthly sales, remained the top US EV sellers through the third quarter with 43.1% and 13.8% market shares, respectively, according to Motor Intelligence.

Data from Kelley Blue Book show that US EV sales hit a record 438,487 units in the third quarter, up 40.7% from the previous quarter. The October slump marks a sharp reversal following that record surge, underscoring the impact of the loss of federal support on EV demand.

(With input from agencies)