- Hyundai recently announced a cash incentive worth up to $11,000 on the Ioniq 5.
- Tesla hopes to maintain EV sales levels with the entry-level Model 3 and Model Y.
- Acura and Stellantis both recently announced they were axing two important EVs.
The federal EV tax credit is no more, effectively increasing the price of many electric vehicles by $7,500. However, several car manufacturers are attempting to avoid hefty price hikes, offering generous discounts, launching affordable new variants, or killing certain models entirely.
The end of the tax credit on September 30 led to a significant surge in EV sales across the United States; however, sales are expected to decline through the final quarter of the year. In a bid to try and prop up demand, Hyundai is offering a cash incentive worth up to $11,000 on the 2025 Ioniq 5.
Read: Tesla’s Standard EVs Don’t Even Have A Radio, But Will You Care?
Both General Motors and Ford have also been looking for ways to encourage shoppers to pick up the keys to one of their models. For example, GM had been working on a plan for its lending arm to initiate the purchase of EVs at dealership lots and then apply for the $7,500 federal credit, rolling this money into lease terms for customers. However, it recently scrapped these plans, reports Reuters.
Nevertheless, it shows how creative some firms are getting to try and ensure EV sales don’t fall off a cliff. This week, Tesla also introduced lower-priced versions of the Model 3 and Model Y. While both of these models were in the works before the Trump administration confirmed that the credit would be axed, they may help to convince some shoppers to buy an EV who would have otherwise been priced out of the market.
According to Edmunds’ director of insights, Ivan Drury, measures like these are being taken in an attempt to sustain EV sales.
“The overarching message of tax credits going away for EVs has had a very different set of approaches from each automaker,” he told Business Insider. “Which approach will be most successful? Debatable. Nobody’s looking to increase. That’s cuckoo talk at this point. You just want to maintain that basic level of sustainable sales, and this is the different methodologies that each of them have taken.”
Both Stellantis and Acura have concluded that axing EV models may be the best answer. For example, Acura recently announced the all-electric ZDX SUV would be scrapped, while Stellantis has killed plans for the RAM 1500 REV.
