It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times For Electric Car Sales In America

Electric car sales in the US are recovering after the federal $7,500 tax credit ended on September 30, 2025. Sales dropped sharply at first, but Kelley Blue Book estimates put second-quarter 2026 sales at 247,226, up 14.7 percent from the first quarter. That's still 20.5 percent below the peak from a year earlier, but much better than the 35 percent drop seen right after the credit expired. Cox Automotive says the market is stabilizing, helped by new models, state-level incentives, and steady buyer interest. Notably, list prices for electric cars have come down since the federal credit disappeared. Tesla still leads with close to half of all sales, and Toyota and Subaru have both seen their electric car sales double this year. Meanwhile, public charging keeps growing, with more than 250,000 charging plugs now available nationwide, up about 20 percent from a year ago.

Separately, the Senate is considering a bill that would bar connected-car hardware and software tied to China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. It targets the systems that let modern cars send data over the internet, not the whole vehicle. Software bans would start January 1, 2027, with hardware bans following three years later. The bill would not affect cars already on the road, only future models and imports. If it becomes law, it could push some foreign-brand vehicles, including certain European models with Chinese ownership ties, out of the US market.