In total, 294,250 battery-electric vehicles hit US roads in Q1 2025 – up 10.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2024. As a result, pure EVs made up 7.5 per cent of all new registrations, up from 7.0 per cent year-on-year. These figures are drawn from the Kelley Blue Book EV Sales Report, which also breaks down the market by brand and model. One notable takeaway from the report: “GM drives EV growth while Tesla declines.”
Decline or not, Tesla still holds the largest share of the US EV market at 43.5 per cent. In absolute terms, the company sold around 128,000 BEVs between January and March. However, this represents a year-on-year decrease of 8.6 per cent – down from over 140,000 units in Q1 2024. General Motors ranks second with 31,886 BEVs sold across its Cadillac (7,972, +37% YoY), Chevrolet (19,186, +114% YoY), and GMC (4,728, +184% YoY) brands. Following GM are the Hyundai Group (22,995) – including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis – and Ford (22,550).
The study’s authors stress that the market is currently seeing fragmented growth: “New models from Acura, Audi, Chevrolet, Honda and Porsche, to name a few, are helping drive higher sales. At the same time, established products declined noticeably.” In short, buyers now have more choices, but for existing EVs, competition is heating up.
As already noted, Tesla’s numbers are down. Other Q1 underperformers include Mercedes-Benz, which sold just 3,472 BEVs – a sharp 58 per cent drop compared to the same period last year – and Rivian, which was down 37 per cent to 8,553 units. Kia and Mini also posted double-digit losses. A closer look at the model breakdown reveals that Mercedes’ premium electric models EQE and EQS were particularly weak, with sales plummeting by 86 and 80 per cent respectively. The compact EQB, on the other hand, managed to gain ground. At Rivian, all three models – EDV, R1S and R1T – fell short of their Q1 2024 figures. Tesla’s refreshed Model 3 saw a strong 70 per cent year-on-year increase, but this wasn’t enough to offset falling demand for the ageing Model Y, which dropped 34 per cent. Specifically, Tesla delivered 52,520 new Model 3s and 64,051 Model Ys, compared to nearly 97,000 Model Ys alone in the same period last year.
Looking at the manufacturers that saw growth at the start of the year, General Motors stands out in particular. The carmaker had struggled with delayed product launches and limited availability – notably the discontinuation of the Chevy Bolt – over the past two years. Now, however, things appear to be turning around: with over 30,000 EVs sold in Q1, GM has nearly doubled its year-on-year volume, overtaking both the Hyundai Group and Ford in the process. The Chevrolet Equinox alone sold 10,329 units. Aside from the two Teslas and the new Equinox, the only other model to break five figures was the Ford Mustang Mach-E (11,607 units).
Volkswagen Group also posted strong gains, growing its EV sales by 183 per cent. The core VW brand was up 55 per cent, led by models like the VW ID.4, ID. Buzz, as well as the Porsche Macan and Audi Q6 e-tron. Three of these four models weren’t yet on the market a year ago, indicating successful product rollouts for the Group in the US.
Stellantis, meanwhile, entered the American EV market in Q1 with new models from Dodge, Jeep, and Fiat – although their performance will only become clear in future reports. Toyota also recorded notable gains, albeit from a relatively low base: BZ4X sales rose 196 per cent to 5,610 units. Volvo also benefitted from the launch of its new EX30 and EX90 models, more than doubling its EV sales to 2,500 units (+114%).
According to the report’s authors, EV sales in the US are likely to remain volatile throughout the rest of 2025, despite the arrival of new products and continued incentives: “If the new auto tariffs hold, they will pose a monumental challenge for many automakers, particularly due to the tariffs on steel and, importantly for EVs, aluminium. Roughly two-thirds of the EVs sold in the US last year were assembled in the U.S., but like all modern automobiles, the required parts and components are sourced from around the globe.”
The ongoing trade tensions with China – ‘the world’s leading supplier of EV battery materials’ – are expected to further disrupt the market. Adding to this uncertainty are widespread concerns that the new US administration could roll back many of the EV incentives introduced under President Biden.
coxautoinc.com, coxautoinc.com (brand and model statistics; PDF)
