NYT: EV Sales Jumped 22% Year Over Year in Q3

Buyers ‘rushed’ to collect federal tax credits before the incentives expired at the end of September.

October 03, 2025

Electric vehicle sales jumped from July to September, as U.S. car buyers rushed to collect federal tax credits of up to $7,500 before the incentives expired at the end of September, wrote The New York Times.

Tesla sales broke a string of quarterly declines, and other automakers, including Ford, General Motors and Hyundai, reported jumps in U.S. electric vehicle sales during the third quarter.

In July, President Trump signed a law that removed a tax credit of up to $7,500 available to people who buy or lease electric vehicles. The credit ended on September 30.

“The impending demise of the credits prompted sales of electric vehicles in the United States to surge 22% in the third quarter from a year earlier, to 410,000 vehicles, according to estimates by Cox Automotive. Electric vehicles accounted for 10% of the new car market, a record,” the outlet reported.

Electric vehicles were reportedly the fastest growing category for several major carmakers in the last quarter. Ford Motor said this week that sales of electric vehicles like the Mustang Mach-E rose 30% in the United States, compared to an 8% increase for all vehicles.

General Motors said that sales of its electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Equinox EV more than doubled, while overall sales rose 8%. Hyundai said its electric vehicles sales doubled while overall retail sales in the United States rose 11%.

“Tesla said it delivered 497,000 vehicles worldwide in the third quarter, up 7% from 463,000 a year earlier. … The company also said on Thursday that sales of large batteries rose more than 80%,” NYT wrote.

However, with the credit now expired, “analysts and industry executives are expecting sales of electric vehicles to slump in coming months because Congress ended the tax credits and other incentives.”