Category: United States

The US EV market is entering a decisive decade, driven by innovation in production. Expanding charging infrastructure and evolving policies will shape the future of mobility.

Reinventing the Factory Floor

Manufacturing is changing rapidly:

• For instance, Ford’s three-branch tree flexible assembly system—building front, rear, and battery modules separately before final assembly—is able to reduce production time and part usage by 20%. That streamlining is valued due to emerging threats from low-cost, large-scale Chinese production.
• In addition, aside from assembly, U.S. automakers are solidifying local EV supply chains, utilizing Inflation Reduction Act benefits and investing in facilities that produce minerals and batteries.

Charging Ahead: Infrastructure Expands

Even the best EVs depend on robust charging networks:

EV registrations have surged, but charging infrastructure is lagging. In Q1 2025, approximately 42 new EVs were registered for every one new public charging port added, according to Autos Innovate.

Meanwhile, the great majority of mainstream producers have committed to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) standard. From 2025 onward, all-new vehicles will roll off the factory NACS-capable. This gives Tesla’s Superchargers network access that is essentially as simple as refueling a typical ICE vehicle.

Meanwhile, federal and local investments continue to add public charging stations, particularly on highways and city corridors.

Policy Crossroads

Policy remains a critical inflection point:

The $7,500 federal EV tax credit, once a cornerstone of EV affordability, is slated to expire on September 30, 2025. This will happen unless it is renewed.

Therefore, this impending deadline is prompting automakers to ramp up pre-expiration sales or pivot to leasing strategies (Reported by Vox and Investors).

Despite federal uncertainty, states like California are pushing aggressive timelines to phase out gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035.

The Road to 2030

Looking ahead: Analysts project EVs may account for one in every four new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030. This growth would happen on the strength of continued innovations in battery technology, durable supply chains, and steady policy backing.

In fact, market estimations position the U.S. EV market size was estimated at around $131.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $139.6 billion by 2025. By 2034, it is expected to jump to $439 billion, representing a 13.6% CAGR (according to Global Market Insights Inc.).

It is a sweltering summer afternoon in Detroit when Ford engineers are secretly getting ready what is described by the executives as the company’s “Model T moment.” Their assignment is neither to assemble another vehicle, but to redefine an entire industry. With an electric pickup truck costing around $30,000 on the cards and billions in fresh investment, Ford is counting on affordability and scale to drag the EV from the sidelines of invention into the very heart of American living, marking a pivotal step in the US EV market.

They’re not alone. From Silicon Valley start-ups to Japanese icons, the game to conquer America’s EV market is on. It’s a challenge powered by technology, demand from consumers, and government encouragement—and it is changing the way Americans think about getting behind the wheel.

A Market in Motion

The U.S. market for electrified and electric vehicles is solidly underway—no longer experimental:

According to Autos Innovate, in Q1 2025 EVs—including BEVs, PHEVs, and fuel-cell electric vehicles—accounted for 9.6% of new light-duty vehicle sales. That’s down from 10.9% in Q4 2024, yet still reflects a 0.3 percentage-point gain year-over-year. Meanwhile, overall light-duty sales rose 6%, and EV volume grew by about 9% (~30,500 vehicles) compared to Q1 2024.

This change in powertrain mix shows the way the dominance of the ICE market is gradually being replaced by several forms of electrified mobility.

The Drive to Affordability

For years, the biggest obstacle to EV adoption was cost. Now, car manufacturers are getting serious about reducing prices:

• Ford aims to produce a mid-sized electric pickup around $30,000 by bringing back the Model T spirit through affordability (as reported by Vox and Investors).
• New entrants like Michigan-based Slate Auto are constructing modularity-based electric trucks whose base prices will come in under $27,500—again flipping the script on availability.
  

Power, Luxury, and Performance

Affordability isn’t the only story. At the luxury end:

Lucid Motors is getting ready to debut the Lucid Gravity, an electric SUV positioned as a high-performance vehicle statement—good for about 828 hp, powered by a 123 kWh battery, and offering 450 miles of range.

Tesla, though still dominant, encounters tougher competition as incumbents such as Ford, GM, and Hyundai—and an increasingly vibrant startup ecosystem—are stepping up their EV initiatives.

Model-Level Highlights
(U.S. Top Sellers H1 2025)

Model	Sales (first half of 2025, United States)
TESLA MODEL Y	• Q1 2025: Approximately 64,051 units sold  • Q2 2025: Estimated 90,949 units sold  • Total H1 Estimate: ~155,000 units
TESLA MODEL 3	• Q1 2025: Around 52,520 units (Q2H1 figures not separately disclosed, but Model Y maintained strong dominance in H1 overall.)
CHEVROLET EQUINOX EV	• Q1 2025: 10,329 units sold in the U.S.  • Q2 2025: 17,420 units sold  • Total H1: ~27,749 units
FORD MUSTANG MACH-E	• Q1 2025: 11,607 units sold  (No explicit Q2 data – total H1 likely slightly higher.)
HONDA PROLOGUE	• Q1 2025: 9,561 units
HYUNDAI IONIQ 5	• Q1 2025: 8,611 units sold
FORD F-150 LIGHTNING	• Q1 2025: 7,187 units sold
BMW i4	• Q1 2025: 7,125 units
TESLA CYBERTRUCK	• Q1 2025: 6,406 units sold

As the birthplace of the Zero-Emission Vehicle, California has turned electromobility into a genuine state policy, contributing to almost a third of electric vehicle sales in the United States, despite having only 10% of the population. But this full-scale laboratory for electric mobility still faces a number of challenges…

California, a pioneer in electromobility, has never stopped making electric cars (EVs) one of its priorities. And that goes back a long way! As early as 1990, the Golden State enacted the “Zero-Emission Vehicle” mandate, imposing clean vehicle quotas on manufacturers wishing to sell in the state, which have been steadily increasing ever since. California has been imposing strict rules on manufacturers for 35 years. Most recently, the Advanced Clean Cars II programme definitively introduced a ban on sales of new, non-electrified cars from 2035. This injunction has been adopted by some fifteen other American states, proving that California is indeed the driving force behind electromobility across the Atlantic.

A host of benefits and opportunities

California is giving itself the means to achieve its electromobility targets. Until 2023, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project enabled the most modest households to reduce their bill by $7,500 for the purchase of electric vehicles. Although this scheme is no longer in effect, it has made a significant contribution to the electrification of the state over the dozen years it has been in existence. Since 2019, the Clean Cars 4 All programme has offered up to $9,500 to help low-income households get rid of their old, polluting vehicles. Added to this is a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. Finally, there’s a detail that’s particularly important when you consider the infernal traffic of Los Angeles: electric car owners can use the dedicated car-sharing lanes free of charge. As a result, by 2024, more than one in four car registrations in California was electric, well above the national average (8%).

In response to growing demand, and taking advantage of a favourable administrative environment, a whole eco-mobile ecosystem is flourishing. Tesla, of course, is still at the top, but more and more competitors are emerging. Large, well-established groups such as Ford, General Motors and Toyota are taking more and more market share, and new 100% electric carmakers are looking to take their share of the cake. This is the case of Rivian, which, even though it is based in Michigan, the cradle of the automobile in the USA, chose Los Angeles in 2018 to present its first models.

And carmakers aren’t the only ones thriving under the sun of the El Dorado State. Tech giants Apple and Alphabet, among others, as well as a whole host of start-ups dedicated to batteries, recharging and operating systems, have taken up residence between San Diego and Los Angeles, creating more than 70,000 jobs in the process since 2020.

The white gold rush

California is undoubtedly the epicentre of electromobility in the United States and, despite the boom in Europe and, above all, China, it continues to set the standard in the field, particularly when it comes to innovation. But not everything is perfect in La La Land. California’s recharging infrastructure is spread mainly along the coast, leaving the interior dry. And despite the abundance of structures in the major coastal urban areas, this is not enough to avoid long queues in front of the charging points because of the overloaded traffic.

Finally, and this is certainly the thorniest issue, California, like the rest of the country, is dependent on lithium imports for battery manufacture. And with the trade war looming, it’s a safe bet that the USA will have to rely on local mining. California is home to the Salton Sea, a recently discovered deposit whose subsoil could be used to manufacture 375 million electric cars! At the beginning of the year, the courts gave the go-ahead for the site to be mined, and after the gold rush, California is now preparing to become the scene of the rush for lithium, the white gold of the electric transition…

Finally, and this is perhaps the biggest sword of Damocles hanging over the head of Californian electromobility: a possible political U-turn hostile to environmental standards, aligned with the ‘petrolophile’ ideas of President Donald Trump, could put the brakes on the momentum underway. Indeed, the occupant of the White House is already threatening to abolish tax credits and funding for the development of recharging infrastructure. His instability and recurrent changes of direction are cause for concern, but the machine is already well under way and it’s hard to see how California could turn back the clock after 35 years of developing electromobility…

Main Californian laws and measures on zero-emission vehicles :

● 1990 – ZEV Mandate
Progressive imposition of zero-emission vehicle sales quotas for all manufacturers operating in California.

● 2002 – Pavley Law
First time a state has regulated CO2 emissions from passenger cars. Will serve as the basis for Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards nationwide.

● 2021 – California Clean Fleet Program
Grants and loans with the goal of rapidly electrifying public truck and bus fleets.

● 2022 – Advanced Clean Cars II
From 2035, 100% of new vehicle sales must be electric cars or plug-in hybrids with at least 50 km of electric range.

● 2024 – Climate Accountability Package
Obligation for large companies to declare their CO2 emissions, including those linked to car fleets.