All-electric vehicle sales in the United States collapsed in October following the expiration of up to US$7,500 in federal purchase incentives.
Multiple carmakers reported double-digit declines as consumers pulled forward purchases before the Trump administration eliminated the credits.
Ford Motor, which held third position in U.S. EV sales through Q3, logged a 25% year-over-year drop in October all-electric deliveries.
The company's Mustang Mach-E slumped 12% whilst the F-150 Lightning slid 17% as buyers who rushed to secure credits in September left dealer inventory depleted.
Toyota reported 18 units sold of its sole battery-electric model, the BZ, down from 1,401 units in October 2024 and 61 vehicles the prior month.
Hyundai Motor and Kia posted their top EV models dropping between 52% and 71% year-over-year, with month-over-month comparisons revealing steeper contractions as September marked a record quarter of 438,487 EV units sold ahead of the credits ending.
The South Korean marque's Ioniq 5 plunged 80% from September to October, whilst the Ioniq 9 tumbled 71%, according to reported volumes.
"Whilst the expiration of the federal tax credit impacted EV sales in the month of October, we still saw strong demand leading up to that change, and we remain confident that the market is going to reset," Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker told CNBC.
Hybrid vehicle deliveries surged 41% at the carmaker last month compared with October 2024, lifting total "electrified" registrations 8% despite pure EV sales declining 57%.
Early October data from Cloud Theory showed EV sales dropping 74% week-over-week following the credit elimination, with dealerships moving 22,997 EVs during 22-28 September versus 5,929 units between 6-12 October.
"With the credit now off the table, the market appears to be settling into a more natural rhythm," Edmunds insight head Jessica Caldwell said.
The Blue Oval's CEO Jim Farley previously predicted EV market share could fall to 5% from September's 10-12% level following the incentive expiry.
Tesla commanded 43.1% market share through Q3, whilst General Motors held 13.8%, leading the U.S. industry in domestic all-electric volumes as buyers rushed to secure incentives before the 30 September deadline.
