Tesla, GM lead record U.S. EV sales this year as federal incentives end

DETROIT – Tesla and General Motors

are leading the U.S. automotive industry this year in record domestic sales of all-electric vehicles, as consumers hurried to buy EVs before up to $7,500 in federal incentives for each purchase ended in September.

New data provided to CNBC from Motor Intelligence shows U.S. sales of EVs, excluding hybrids, topped 1 million units through the first nine months of the year and set a new quarterly record of more than 438,000 units sold during the third quarter — achieving market share of 10.5% for the period.

That record market share is up from 7.4% during the second quarter and 7.6% during the first three months of the year, according to Motor Intelligence. Sales of all-electric models were estimated to be 1.3 million in 2024, with a roughly 8% market share.

U.S. EV industry leader Tesla, which does not report sales by region, is estimated to have retained its leadership position with a 43.1% market share through September, according to the data. That’s down from 49% to end last year, as competitors continue to release new EVs.

GM, which offers the most EV models in the U.S., has made significant gains this year. Motor Intelligence reported that the Detroit automaker went from an 8.7% market share to begin this year to 13.8% through the third quarter – topping Hyundai Motor, including Kia, at 8.6% through September.

The sales data comes two days after GM estimated it leads the U.S. industry in EV market share growth so far in 2025, with the lowest incentives of any major automaker. It sold 144,668 EVs through September, which still only represented 6.8% of its total U.S. sales.  

“No one is in a stronger position for a changing U.S. market than GM,” Duncan Aldred, GM president of North America, said in a release. “We have the best lineup of ICE [internal combustion engine] and EV vehicles we’ve ever had. Our brands have grown market share with consistently strong pricing, and low incentives and inventory.”

Following Tesla, GM and Hyundai, Motor Intelligence data shows Ford Motor’s EV market share was 6.6% through the third quarter, followed by Volkswagen at 5.4%; Honda Motor at 4.6%; and BMW at 3.6%.

Despite sales increasing each quarter of this year, EV startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group continue to have a relatively small EV market share. Lucid remains under 1%, while Rivian was at 3% through September.

Major automakers reported third-quarter results this week that were led by EV sales. The rush to buy electric cars came ahead of the federal incentives for those vehicles ending as a result of the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Industry analysts and executives believe the incentives ending will create a boom-and-bust cycle for the sale of EVs in the U.S.

Ford CEO Jim Farley on Tuesday said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if sales of EVs fell from an industry market share of around 10% to 12% in September to 5% after the incentive program ends.

The end of EV credits for the U.S. comes as the country continues to trail other major automakers in the adoption of zero-emission vehicles. The International Energy Agency reports China continued to lead EV adoption globally last year, with sales of 6.4 million all-electric vehicles, not counting hybrids, followed by Europe at 2.2 million units.

— CNBC’s Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.