Sun, 05 Oct 2025

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 How the US got left behind in the global electric car race

Despite a recent surge in demand, the US is a laggard in EV sales compared to much of the rest of the world.
Carmakers are expecting demand to drop off significantly now that the subsidy has ended. Ford's CEO said "it's going to be a vibrant industry, but it's going to be smaller" while General Motors' CFO predicted EV demand would "drop off pretty precipitously". The US lags behind other countries in electric car sales, with battery electric and hybrid cars accounting for nearly 30% of new sales in the UK last year. In Europe, they accounted for roughly one in five sales, while in China, the world's biggest car market, sales of such cars accounted for almost half of overall sales. Analysts say adoption in the US has been slowed by weak government support for the sector. President Biden had pushed to increase take-up, aiming for electric cars to account for half of all sales in the US by 2030, but his administration's efforts have been rolled back under President Trump. Electric cars are still more expensive than comparable petrol-powered vehicles in the US, with an average transaction price of over $57,000. Chinese carmakers like BYD have been effectively shut out of the US market due to high tariffs targeting cars made in China. Analysts say what buyers do next hinges on how carmakers set prices in the months ahead, as they contend not only with the end of the tax credit but also tariffs on foreign cars and certain car parts.
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