Month: April 2025

Tesla reported its first quarter sales, its first quarterly report since the company has been taking much pressure from CEO Elon Musk’s new role on the Trump administration. For Q1 2025, the electric vehicle maker reported 336,681 global vehicle deliveries, a 13% decrease compared to the previous year. It was below analyst expectations and marks the company’s lowest quarterly delivery figure since the first quarter of 2022. Along with negative impact from Musk’s rule hading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), multiple sources also attributed the drop to an overall decline in consumer demand.

Tesla has also taken action on reducing pricing on its Cybertruck during a climate of disappointing sales. The company just launched the Cybertruck Long Range with a starting price of $72,235 (before federal tax incentives and including destination fees). It drops well below the original All-Wheel-Drive trim level, which starts at $82,235. Sales were up for the Cybertruck in Q1 over last year, but Ford did even better. The Cybertruck hit 6,406 sold in Q1 compared to the 7,187 Ford F-150 Lightnings.

Kelly Blue Book Electric Vehicle Sales Report said that Tesla’s decline happened even as overall electric vehicle sales rose a healthy 10.6% to 294,250 cars and trucks in the U.S.. General Motors took second place in last quarter’s EV sales, and new models from Honda and Acura, and to a lesser extent Dodge and Jeep, helped maintain the segment.

How Tariffs Might Impact EVs: For the 90-day suspension on most of the reciprocal tariffs announced on Wednesday by President Donald Trump, it doesn’t include a suspension of 25% tariffs on imported autos and auto parts into the U.S., according to Detroit Free Press. Tariffs on imported aluminum and steel are also expected to have an impact on automakers and car buyers in the U.S. Electric vehicles could definitely feel the brunt of it, according to Green Car Reports. As for EVs made in Mexico, that list includes Ford Mustang Mach-E, Cadillac Optiq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Honda Prologue, and Jeep Wagoneer S. In Canada, the Dodge Charger Daytona EV makes that list, too. Both countries are seeing a number of hybrid models built there, which will also feel the impact of the tariffs.

RNG at ACT Expo: For those attending ACT Expo in Anaheim, you can show up a day early on Sunday, April 27 to get the inside scoop on the RNG advantage for fleets. That’s coming from the Transport Projects’s RNG Sunday Summit @ACT Expo. Attendees can also see the in-depth Fuel Portfolio for Fleets Workshop detailing the emergence of RNG and the benefits it delivers to fleets on Monday, April 28. Find out why RNG is becoming the alternative fuel of choice for fleet applications and connect with the industry leaders and experts that can show you how over at the Anaheim Convention Center for ACT Expo April 28-May 1, 2025.

Service offering to Green Auto Market readers: Editor and Publisher Jon LeSage is now offering services to the clean transportation community. These offerings include grant and RFP writing, communication materials, marketing and media materials, distribution of promotional and marketing materials to GAM readers, research services, audience surveys and in-depth interviews, and a GAM Market Report: EV Market Demand and Ownership in a Changing Environment. You can reach me at jlesage378@gmail.com, and I can send you more information on these services, a price sheet, and details on paying through my PayPal account. Thanks for your interest and support!

Learning more about Recurrent Auto: Recurrent Reports are available from Recurrent Auto to empower shoppers to check the expected range, and remaining warranty and tax credit eligibility for EV inventory on dealer websites. It’s provides an opportunity for dealers to reach out to car shoppers savvy to EVs and who want to purchase their first one or a newer model. Utilizing Recurrent’s Buying Center lets you make offers on a community of 30,000+ top-quality electric cars that are connected to the Recurrent platform. On that platform, EV owners can share basic info on their EV, share their name and number so Recurrent can reach out to dealers on their behalf, and they can upload photos to improve their chances of getting better offers. It’s being used daily by CarMax, Adesa, Edmunds, Cars Commerce, DGDG, and Easterns Automotive Group, according to Recurrent Auto.

China continues to have the lion’s share of electric vehicle sales in the global market, and this year is seeing a few new technology options coming to market. Range-extender electric vehicles have been gaining a demand increase and are part of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) seeing an 81% growth rate last year in that country.

Some of the range-extenders were introduced to the U.S. market years ago, such as the BMW i3 with the range-extender option, the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius Prime, and Jeep Wrangler 4xe. China’s version of range-extender electric vehicles have yet to come to Western markets in mass volumes.

Bloomberg reported that extended-range electric vehicles have become the fastest-growing propulsion system for vehicles in China. Chinese automaker Li Auto is a leader in that field, with most of its vehicles having the technology. The Li6 was launched in China in April 2024, and became very popular.

London-based forecast and analysis firm Rho Motion reported that China had nearly two thirds of new global plug-in vehicle sales last year. At about 11 million units sold, it was a 40% increase over 2023. The BYD Song (available both in battery electric vehicle — BEV — and PHEV versions) led the market at about 660,000 units sold in China last year.

The Chinese market benefited from its car trade-in program, which was extended into 2025. Those trading in for an battery electric, or plug-in hybrid, receive 20,000 yuan ($2,755), while those trading in for a gasoline car get 15,000 yuan ($2,067). 

One aspect of China’s market that’s not entirely clear is how many hybrid vehicles, without plug-ins, are being sold there. Those figures don’t appear to be available. Toyota has been selling its Corolla Hybrid and Levin Hybrid in China, which may be around 100,000 units sold in total in that market per year.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are included in the China’s ‘new energy vehicle’ category along with battery electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that by the end of 2023 a total of 18,096 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles had been sold in country, 36.19% of the targeted 50,000 vehicles by 2025.

Other technology innovations coming to market have included anticipation for BYD’s first 1,000-kW ultrafast charging stations rolling out in early April. Its smart driving technology features, branded as ‘God’s Eye’ or ‘DiPilot’, have been rolling out through automated parking, adaptive cruise control, and advanced braking assistance.

On the BYD Vs. Tesla front, the Chinese maker continues to lead the way. BYD sold 4.3 million vehicles in 2024, including 1.76 million battery electric vehicles and 2.54 million hybrid electric vehicles. Tesla sold 1.79 million battery electric vehicles last year.

BYD dominates the Chinese market, with its sales surging 164% in February 2025, while Tesla’s deliveries in China slumped. 

Chinese EV maker Nio started up in 2014, went public in 2018, and has been getting a lot of attention from investors and auto market analysts over the years. Times have been rough lately with its risk level flagged in a fourth quarter earnings report that came out March 21. It’s seen weak car deliveries in recent months, as deliveries of the first model from its sub-brand Onvo, the L60 SUV (sport utility vehicle), have been lower than expected, according to CnEVPost.

Sales have been solid, though. Nio delivered 15,039 vehicles in March, up 26.7% over February and 14% higher than a year earlier. The Nio brand and its Onvo sub-brand saw rebounds in March over February.

Leaving Tesla for competitors: Lucid Motors’ interim CEO Marc Winteroff told Fox Business that the company has seen a “dramatic uptick over the past two months” in orders from former Tesla drivers. Over that time, 50% of orders were from former Tesla owners. Lucid has been ramping up deliveries of its first electric SUV, the Gravity. Winteroff said that deliveries will resume by the end of April. Tesla owners have been looking switch over to other EV makers since CEO Elon Musk started campaigning for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and especially since he was appointed head of the new Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and started making deep staff cuts at federal agencies.

Hyundai IONIQ line continues to thrive: The Hyundai IONIQ 6 has been awarded the 2025 Best Value electric vehicle by Cars.com. The South Korean automaker says that a few of its features helped earn the award. One of them is its IONNA joint venture with eight OEMs to develop a new, high-powered charging network with at least 30,000 chargers. Beginning in Q1 2025, Hyundai is providing complimentary NACS adapters North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports for electric vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Hyundai EVs with the free NACS ports will gain access to more than 20,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. This will double the size of the DC fast charging network available to Hyundai EV customers. Evolve+, Hyundai’s electric vehicle subscription service, provides flexibility and affordability to consumers that want to drive Hyundai’s newest electric vehicles without committing to a purchase or lease. The IONIQ 6 electric sedan and the IONIQ 5 electric crossover SUV models have been winning lots of awards; with the 6 taking World Car of the Year in 2023, and the 5 taking that award in 2022.