This review of US electric vehicle sales data is based on figures from the Argonne National Laboratory.
Sales of vehicles by powertrain type in the US in 2025 were as follows:
Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs): ~1.21 million units
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs): 280,000 units
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs): 2.00 million units
Total vehicle sales (all types): 16.21 million units
Ranked by sales volume (from highest to lowest):
In December 2025, US HEV sales hit 186,080 units (54,281 passenger cars, 131,799 SUVs and other models), an 8.9% year-on-year increase. Toyota accounted for 42.0% of total monthly HEV sales.
Hybrid electric vehicles have taken a dominant position in the US market and stand unrivaled in the country’s electrification landscape.
In December, new energy vehicle (NEV) sales reached 105,540 units (86,149 BEVs, 19,391 PHEVs), a 35.6% year-on-year decrease. PHEVs accounted for 7.23% of total US light vehicle sales in the month.
Following the rollout of the $7,500 tax rebate from October to December, sales momentum for both BEVs and PHEVs has completely faltered, with the supply-side landscape fraught with significant challenges.
In 2025, Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) sales exceeded 1.50 million units, a 4% year-on-year decline, with BEVs making up over 80% of total PEV sales. PEVs accounted for 9.3% of the US’s total passenger vehicle sales in 2025, down from 9.9% in 2024. As of the end of December 2025, the cumulative sales of PEVs in the US have surpassed 7.8 million units. A breakdown of monthly and annual figures reveals clear market trends.
Historically, US BEV and HEV sales were roughly on par in 2023. However, 2024 and 2025 have seen US consumers lean decisively toward hybrid electric vehicles. In short, the rise in US BEV penetration driven by Tesla has hit a wall in 2025.
This trend is also evident in monthly sales data, indicating that US EV penetration will grow at a much slower pace starting in 2026.
A review of auto sales data in the US and Japan shows that the current electric vehicle industry is inextricably linked to supply chains, which rely heavily on a range of resources—including those critical to power batteries and rare earths.
China has built the world’s most robust industries for power batteries and electric drive systems (motors, power semiconductors).
Against this backdrop, the global automotive industry has split into two distinct development paths:
China-reliant path: This route grants access to the world’s most cost-competitive electric vehicles. Going forward, 60-kWh high-capacity extended-range models can be regarded as a variant of pure electric vehicles. This path is highly likely to gain popularity in Southeast Asia, South America and Australia. It remains to be seen whether Europe will cede ground in its own automotive industry amid this shift.
China-independent path: Currently, the US and Japan have opted for this route, choosing hybrid powertrain technologies that require far less battery capacity and rare earth resources. PHEVs are currently no match for HEVs in both the Japanese and US markets.
The industrial route a region chooses is highly aligned with its policy support, core strengths and resource endowments.
Conclusion
In the development of electric vehicles in the US, Tesla’s skyrocketing sales once attempted to steer the country’s automotive industry toward full electrification—an effort that has now proven unsuccessful. In the US market, both PHEVs and BEVs are ceding ground to hybrid electric vehicles, as the industry leans more into its traditional automotive strengths and adopts solutions that conserve battery and rare earth resources.
