Federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credits, along with other key funding for charging infrastructure, vehicle deployment, and manufacturing, are ending years earlier than expected. This is a clear setback for the EV industry, U.S. economic competitiveness, advanced vehicle manufacturing growth, and national and economic security. While this might slow down the pace of electrification, there are reasons for optimism.
U.S. Passenger EV Share of Total Car Sales, Outlook Comparison
Source: BloombergNEF
Note: passenger vehicle sales
Modern mass-market EVs first emerged in 2009, less than two decades ago. In this short time, the market has consistently and quickly grown; EVs now represent one in five new light-duty vehicles purchased worldwide and are expected to comprise one in four by the end of the year. While the pace of further growth is difficult to predict, leading analysts such as the International Energy Agency and Bloomberg New Energy Finance agree that, despite policy retrenchment, U.S. and global EV market shares are on track to double by the end of the decade.
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) were designed to rapidly accelerate the U.S. EV market, allowing us to grow our leadership globally. Investments helped expedite electrification while also ensuring that the benefits were captured domestically. Many of the policies required the EV industry and the broader supply chain to make EVs, batteries, and chargers in the United States, incentivizing the creation of a secure and reliable supply of critical minerals domestically and with our allies and combating the outsized role of China’s EV leadership.
Over the past several years, a combination of policies and actions around the country have accelerated the U.S. EV market and better positioned us globally:
- Created 228,000 jobs in the EV sector
- Attracted at least $200 billion in domestic manufacturing investments
- More than doubled the nation’s public charging infrastructure network from 91,129 ports to 219,310
- Contributed to an increase in the average range of an EV from approximately 250 miles to 300, with some models able to exceed 400 miles
- Contributed to increased charging speeds, with many EVs now able to gain more than 200 miles in just 15 minutes
- Grew the number of EV models sold in the United States across all vehicle classes from 167 to 266
- Multiplied the number of on-road medium- and heavy-duty EVs by nearly 40, from 714 to 27,000
- Lowered the average price of an EV by nearly 15%, with some below $30,000
Cumulative EV Charging Ports Deployed in the United States, 2022–2025
Source: Atlas EV Hub
By 2022, 1.3 million EVs had been sold in U.S. history; another 1.3 million were sold in 2024 alone, with another half a million purchased through April 2025. Revoking tax credits and other incentives is likely to slow the market’s growth, but no amount of policy retrenchment will reverse the global momentum and the positive steps we have made in the United States. Today, the EV market and national charging infrastructure network supporting it are more robust than ever, but to meet the challenge and opportunity, the EV community can’t just languish in what could have been. We need to drive action at the local and state levels, continue focusing on scaling policies that work, develop new policies to drive the market, and depoliticize transportation electrification by focusing on the broader “kitchen table” benefits and rationale.
Though sometimes rightly overshadowed by federal incentive impacts, state and local efforts have been an integral and underappreciated part of the EV boom. Innovative municipal programs and ambitious state-level policies have facilitated the emergence of market leaders and roadmaps for the next set of city and state leaders. California has long been the example, but other locations are starting to emerge, like Colorado’s state-level tax credits and ambitious charging infrastructure investments, which pushed EVs’ market share above 25% by the end of 2024. Thanks to the diligent efforts of local leaders, Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools leads the nation with 326 electric school buses ordered or operating. Bold infrastructure investments from utilities like Georgia Power are facilitating EV adoption among underserved communities while paving the way for resilience-enhancing vehicle-grid integration.
Among other indicators of growth, Uber, the nation’s largest rideshare platform, is already seeing that one in ten miles are electric, and there are now 13 states, plus DC, that have market adoption of EVs that exceed 10%. Strong, forward-thinking state leadership and collaboration with the private sector have also spurred significant investments and created thousands of jobs in EV manufacturing in states like Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Nevada. These are just a few of the many examples of positive growth in the EV sector across the nation, largely due to state and local efforts.
As is the case with technology adoption, there is a “messy middle” between the early adopter phase and mass adoption phase. For EVs, market challenges are numerous (including that a car is the second largest household expense and the slow deployment of charging), and these new policy shifts are making the middle even messier. Some companies may experience consolidation and constrained markets, and constantly shifting tariffs are likely to shroud the industry in even greater uncertainty.
But EVs are simply a superior technology that continues to get better and more affordable and will eventually emerge on top. The cost savings, national security advantages, and other social benefits are far too compelling to ignore. There’s little doubt that transportation electrification progress will slow down now that Congress has retracted federal support, but electric vehicles are here to stay and will only grow in their market share.
For too long and especially recently, EVs have become a divisive political issue. As a community of advocates, we need to focus more on how the technology delivers a better car, and on the fact that by electrifying, we can diversify how we power our transportation future.
In the meantime, there has never been a better time to go electric. Consumer and commercial EV tax credits are still available until September 30, and individuals and fleet owners should take advantage of them while it is still possible. With federal momentum slowing, state and local governments now have a powerful opportunity to drive the next wave of transportation electrification. Bold, innovative policies at the state and local levels can deliver meaningful benefits, such as cutting costs for families and businesses, attracting investment, and creating long-term jobs in the United States.
The EC has created valuable tools to help shape policy, accelerate deployment, and reduce barriers to EV adoption, including:
- Coalitions
- Coming soon: Advanced Freight Partners Group
- Implementation Resources
- Dashboard for Rapid Vehicle Electrification (DRVE) Tool: total cost of ownership analysis for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty fleet vehicles
- Drive EV Fleets: collective buying platform for public fleets
- evPORT: collective buying platform for ports
- Policy Guides
- Electrifying Transportation in Municipalities: a guide to smart local EV policies and actions
The road ahead may be a bit bumpy, but there is a path to electrification, and the destination is worth plugging in.