In the first half of 2025, the new energy vehicle market in the United States showed a trend of "high at the beginning and low at the end", with overall sales reaching a historic high. However, the year-on-year decline in the second quarter exposed multiple pressures on the market as it entered a mature stage.

Hybrid models continue to grow, while the growth of pure electric and plug-in hybrid models has slowed down. The adjustment of federal tax incentives has become an important variable affecting consumer decision-making and has added more uncertainty to the market trend in the second half of the year.

Hybrid models continue to strengthen, with traditional dominant brands dominating

In June 2025, the sales of hybrid vehicles in the United States reached 153660 units, an increase of 13.3% compared to the same period in 2024. Among all hybrid vehicle sales, Toyota held a market share of 43.5%, continuing to maintain its leading position in this segment.

Thanks to its early layout and deep accumulation in hybrid technology, the US market highly recognizes its product line. From Prius to Camry hybrid, and then to Highlander and RAV4 hybrid, Toyota has gained a wide user base with full coverage and stable quality. Unlike the strong performance of hybrid vehicles, the sales of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States in June 2025 were 113433 units, a year-on-year decline of 8.4%.

Among them, there are 93717 pure electric vehicles and 19716 plug-in hybrid models. In the overall light vehicle market, plug-in models account for 9.04%, which remains at a historical high, but the decline in sales has raised industry concerns.

In the first half of this year, a total of 607089 electric vehicles were sold in the United States, a slight increase of 1.5% compared to the first half of 2024. However, the sales volume in the second quarter was 310839 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3%, which is one of the few quarterly declines in history, partly attributed to the federal tax credit policy that will expire in September.

As consumer wait-and-see sentiment intensifies, some groups who originally planned to buy cars choose to delay their decisions and wait for further policy clarification.

At the technical level, plug-in hybrid models are still playing the role of "transitional technology", achieving zero emissions for short distance commuting through external charging and solving range anxiety through the engine. However, in the US market, the acceptance of PHEV models is still limited by the uneven distribution of charging facilities and consumer cognitive biases.

The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market continues to maintain a niche positioning. In June 2025, only 25 related models were sold in the United States, including 17 Honda CR-V, 7 Toyota Mirai, and 1 Hyundai Nexo. Since 2014, the cumulative sales have only been 18750 units, indicating that its commercialization is still in the exploratory stage.

Performance of individual enterprises

From the perspective of corporate performance

Tesla still holds a dominant position in the electric vehicle market, with a market share of 46% in the United States. But its sales in the second quarter decreased by 10% year-on-year, indicating that even top manufacturers cannot stand alone.

General Motors has doubled its sales of electric vehicles through the release of new models and production capacity;

Ford has experienced a slowdown in growth and a decline in sales.

The differentiation of performance among different manufacturers reflects the direct impact of supply chain rhythm, product competitiveness, and pricing strategies on the electric vehicle market.

In the second quarter of 2025, the sales of new electric vehicles in the United States decreased by 6.3% year-on-year, with a total sales volume of 310839 units, lower than the 330000 units in the same period last year. This is the third quarterly decline in the US electric vehicle market, indicating that this once rapidly growing industry is entering a period of adjustment and maturity.

From a broader time perspective, the total sales of electric vehicles in the United States will still reach a new high in the first half of 2025, reaching 607000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%.

As the government's new car tax credit of up to $7500 is about to end on October 1st, the "rental loophole" that originally supported consumer enthusiasm has also been closed. Coupled with rising macroeconomic pressures, the electric vehicle market is facing a real stress test.

The electric transformation of traditional car companies has shown results, and General Motors has delivered an impressive report: in the first half of 2025, the sales of electric vehicles exceeded 78000, more than double that of the same period last year. Chevrolet has surpassed Ford and Hyundai to become the second best-selling electric vehicle brand in the United States, helping General Motors increase its overall market share to 12.9%.

This marks that traditional car companies are leveraging their systematic product and channel capabilities to win back in the electric vehicle race.

Tesla's sales have declined for two consecutive quarters, with a year-on-year decrease of over 12% in the second quarter. Its market share has dropped from 50% at the beginning of the year to 44.7%, and its leading advantage is rapidly shrinking.

Whether it is the aging of the product matrix, price war overdrafts, or brand image shaking, Tesla is now facing not only the problem of "how to grow", but also the challenge of "how to hold on to the fundamentals".

While the new car market is experiencing a downturn, second-hand electric vehicles are quietly gaining popularity.

In the second quarter, the retail sales of used electric vehicles in the United States exceeded 100000 units for the first time, showing strong year-on-year growth. The incentives for used electric vehicles in the United States have also been reduced, but the market's own supply and demand adjustments and price advantages are driving the rapid growth of the used electric vehicle market.

This is a new window of opportunity for downstream services in the industrial chain, battery recycling, finance and insurance sectors.

summarize

In the first half of 2025, the US new energy vehicle market has shown a trend of differentiation. Hybrid models benefit from user habits and mature technology, and continue to maintain a steady upward trend; However, pure electric and plug-in hybrid models are subject to multiple influences from policies, infrastructure, and market confidence fluctuations, and are indeed in a situation of adjustment and observation.