EVs Are Cracking Up

Subsidies have run out, new sales and resale values are declining. Plus a comment on the progress of my DIY solar hybrid with battery backup project

Happy 4th of July and 250th to America!

I had hoped to present part 2 on the DIY project by now, but have run into a few problems with the electric code. I’ll put out an update as soon as time permits. I finally found an electrician who will come out this afternoon to give me a few pointers.

PART I - subsidies

Note: The declines are in all-electric EVs, not hybrids. New hybrid sales are doing well.

In the US, all the federal subsidies for EVs ran out on September 30th 2025.

The EV charger tax credit, residential home energy credits, and the EV tax credit for new, used, and leased electric vehicles expired June 30th 2026.

Background, from Plug In America

On July 4th 2025, President Trump signed the administration’s funding bill into law. The bill repealed or weakened the following clean transportation investments, largely from the Inflation Reduction Act:

• Repealed 25E (Used Clean Vehicles), 30D (New Clean Vehicles), and 45W (Commercial Clean Vehicles) tax credits for vehicles acquired after Sept. 30, 2025.

• Repealed 30C (Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Tax Credit) for all chargers placed in service after June 30, 2026.

• Added severe restrictions to 45X (Battery Manufacturing Tax Credit)

• Eliminated monetary penalties under Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, making the program nearly impossible to enforce.

• Rescinded unobligated funding (meaning funding that has not been assigned to a project through a contract) from transportation programs under the Inflation Reduction Act, including Climate Pollution Reduction Grants and the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program.

• Cancelled additional funding for GSA Emerging Technologies, which could be used for federal government fleet electrification.

• Repealed several Inflation Reduction Act loan authorities and rescinded billions in unobligated credit subsidies, such as the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program.

out with the Endangerment Finding

On July 28th 2025 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule that would rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which acknowledged that greenhouse gas emissions cause harm to human health and the environment. This finding provided a legal foundation for the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and other sources. If this finding is rescinded, the EPA’s Clean Car Standards, which regulate vehicle pollution, could be rolled back as well.

(This was finalized in Feb. 2026) On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule officially rescinding the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding. By doing so, the agency removed the scientific and legal basis for federal greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation under the Clean Air Act, including all emission standards for motor vehicles. (from Ai)

relaxation of fuel economy rules under new administration

On Dec.5th 2025 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed a rule to roll back federal vehicle efficiency standards under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program…

Manufacturers can comply with this program in a variety of ways, such as making more fuel-efficient gas vehicles or offering more electric vehicles. If finalized as proposed, this rule will set average fuel economy requirements back to model year (MY) 2022 standards…

throwaway EVs

from an MGUY video, thanks to Tom Shepstone for passing this on. EVs are becoming more and more like consumer electronics, with new models rapidly replacing older models, like i-phones, making the obsolete ones with depreciated battery life practically like throw-aways heading for the junk heap in just a few years.

PART II - declining sales

from Yahoo finance Sales of the Chevrolet Equinox EV fell 61.8% to 6,660, the Blazer EV dropped 68.1%, the GMC Hummer EV slid 56.8%, and the Cadillac Lyriq was off 16.1%.

from electric-vehicles.com Tesla sold 36,642 vehicles in the United States in June, a 19.7% decline from the 45,628 units sold in the same month a year earlier, estimates released on Thursday by Motor Intelligence showed.

from CNBC [Ford] said its pure EV sales fell by 40.7% during the quarter compared with a year earlier

PART III - declining resale value and increasing sales of used EVs

gleaned from thedrive.com:

3 yr-old EVs are obsoleted by newer models, almost like cell phones. They also become more obsolete because the batteries lose about 2% of lifetime per year, along with the accompanying loss of range. Effectively, they’re ready for new batteries in the 7th year or sooner - and the batteries are a very large percentage of the value of the car - generally 30-45% depending on model.

Those factors increase the supply of used models, driving the prices down, but that’s not the only reason supply is up. The supply of used EVs is swollen from expired leases. The car rental agencies have learned the hard way that most people don’t want an EV when they rent a car, so they’re dumping EVs at big losses. (Customers want to have more assurance that they’ll get where they’re going, and who wants to go to a charging station?)

Higher gas prices since the Iran War have made EVs’ low fuel cost more attractive. I expect that to be only temporary, but it helps explain another reason used EV sales are up about 29% in the 2nd quarter.

An interesting tip by drive.com is that batteries last longer if you avoid fast charging. The best way is to set up for charging overnight at home if you don’t have chargers at your workplace. However, EVs are most attractive to city dwellers, and a lot of urbanites live in apartments and don’t have the option to charge while sleeping.