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EIA: US hybrid vehicle sales continue to rise as electric and plug-in vehicle shares remain flat

About 22% of light-duty vehicles sold in the first quarter of the year in the United States were hybrid, battery electric, or plug-in hybrid vehicles, up from about 18% in the first quarter of 2024. Among those categories, hybrid electric vehicles have continued to gain market share while battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have remained relatively flat, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence reported by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

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The decrease in electric vehicle sales was driven by declining sales of battery electric models such as the Honda Prologue, Chevrolet Equinox, and Tesla Model Y. These declines were partially offset by increased sales of other battery electric models, such as the Volkswagen ID.4 and Toyota bZ4X.

Battery electric vehicle sales in particular are more common in the luxury vehicle market. US luxury vehicles accounted for 14% of the total light-duty vehicle market in the first quarter of the year, the lowest share since mid-2020. Electric vehicles accounted for 23% of total luxury sales in the first quarter of 2025. Electric vehicles had accounted for more than one-third of luxury sales in 2023 and 2024 before Wards reclassified the Tesla Model 3 as non-luxury in late 2024.

Battery electric vehicles’ average transaction prices remain persistently higher than the overall market: the average transaction prices increased from $55,500 in December 2024 to $59,200 in March 2025, compared with the average price of all new vehicles, which decreased from $49,700 to $47,500. This 25% difference between battery electric vehicles and the industry average prices in March 2025 was the highest in any month since April 2023.

In 2023, the most recent data year, electric vehicles accounted for less than 2% of all registered light-duty vehicles in the United States.

Comments

Bernard

The unstated elephant in the room is that sales of fossil-only cars must be falling by a significant margin.

I find it interesting that US sales of EVs are flat, despite Tesla losing a huge part of their market share. You think that this would have a big impact on overall EV sales, but American EV buyers just switched to other brands.

JamesDo88039200

The data is right there. ICE is 78% ,all forms of electric at 22% in 2025. Of that 12% is neither a EV or a plug in. In 2020 ICE was 85 ish percent and 2% was regular hybrids. So from 2020 to 2025 regular hybrids grew 10% and ICE dropped to.just under 80%...ICE is still by far the dominate form of new vehicle sold it's almost a.statistical.rounding error for anything else.

I would only consider a hybrid or maybe a plug in . A EV is hard no. If BYD sold their 5 passenger sedan with 70 miles plug in range for the $15000 they charge for it in China I would buy two of them tomorrow. I demand 5 min refuel, 600+ miles range in a single tank at 85 mph and it not be over $40,000. Those are not negotiable. My current commuter car meets all those specs and cost 25,000 new off the lot.

Bernard

James,

You must realize that you are exceptional, with your incredibly strong bladder, and a job that requires you to drive for 7 hours straight (600 miles at 85 mph), multiple times a day. Most car buyers have much less stringent requirements.
Typical families have enough spare time to plug a car in for a few hours in their driveway, once a week. Perhaps if your job wasn't so extreme, you might be able to negotiate a 20 minute charging break at the 3.5 hour mark, which would save your business many thousands of dollars per year from what must be a truly frightful gasoline bill.

sd

I own a 2019 Chevy Bolt with just over 100,000 miles. Other than tires, I have changed the rear wiper blade twice and will probably change the other blades before winter. It costs me less than 0.03/mile to drive and it drive much better than any vehicle that I have had. So for me, buying another vehicle or any other device with an IC engine is a hard no and that includes hybrids. I think that with hybrids, you still have all of the maintenance problems of having an IC engine.

Roger Pham

@sd,
>>>>>>>>>" I think that with hybrids, you still have all of the maintenance problems of having an IC engine."
Reply: I have several Toyota Priuses, with one at 200,000 miles, and very few maintenances. Oil change every 10k miles, filters, no brakes work, battery changed at 190k mile. NO engine-related problem. ALL problems are associated with the electrical systems, like the electric ABS brake booster, the screen, the hybrid traction battery. The engine runs like new, and I'm still getting 55 mpg, as well as the transmission, the suspension, the brakes, all original. No transmission change ever. just one change of coolant fluid which you must do in a BEV anyway.

Roger Pham

@sd,
correction: NO transmission OIL change ever, because it is lifetime fluid. Very few maintenances and far more reliable than any Tesla and GM EVs.

sd

Roger, I would never buy a Prius or any other Toyota. The Prius was a good idea in 2000 but that was 25 years ago. It is past time to get rid of IC engines. Also, in defense of GM, I have had a number of GM cars and trucks. I think that the least mileage I got on any of them without major problems since the early 1990s has been 250,000 miles. I got 360,000 on one pickup and that included some serious off-road beatings with a pickup camper.

Thomas Pedersen

Bernard,

Nice comeback :-D

James, no offense, but Bernard i right. Still, I have no intention of denying you the vehicle you prefer or require.

For me personally, owning an EV comes with some tradeoffs but overall it has been positive. Particularly on the maintenance front, but also the fact that my fuel bill is less than one US Cent per mile!

The European (expensive) car manufacturers are increasingly implementing mild hybrid (48V) as almost default to save a lot of idling and inefficient operation with a minimum of additional systems, which will drop in cost in the future. This system can basically eliminate the need for two cylinders without any loss of performance or comfort, but with a substantial reduction in fuel use. Further down the line, the ICE engine can also be further simplified to both reduce cost and increase efficiency, as in the Nissan e-Power concept.

JamesDo88039200

No not 600 miles per day every day. Daily is 50 to 120 depending on going to Dallas or Ft Worth from far North Texas nearly Oklahoma where my wife lives. I travel so much I don't have a full time home. 600+ miles every three weeks to 4 weeks twice one out once back. New Orleans is 590 door to door. Midland is 400+ Houston is 400. I go to Gulfport and Biloxi on the regular same.for Mobile too. I demand a vehicle that can cover 600 miles on a single tank no stops of 5 let alone 30+ minutes that's not negotiable. If I do stop it's for 45 seconds to pee and then move on. Fuel stops are and need to be 3 to 5 or LESS.

My current car can do this it easily does 600 miles on a tank , fills up in under 5 and cost $25,000 new off the lot. Thats HALF what an EV with less range and much more inconvenience. Not.just no but HELL NO.

Just fly they say, nope I have three weeks worth of gear,cloths, fire suits, two large laptops, a 55" 4K screen and duffles full of scopes, slides and mesh sleeves if I am mud logging while Ops Geo twice the pay in half the time. Seats folded down everything fits and still have room for a front seat passenger should I take another Geo with me on contracts.

The fuel bill is irrelevant it's played for by the client, so is the depreciation and initial capex on the vehicle it's all a biz expense and tax deductions too. Until an EV can fill up in 5 min or less and go at least 600 miles and have access to over 100,000 filling points like an already existing ICE it's a hard very hard NO from the road warrior class.

BYD has the answer it's a plug in of the same size but it has only a small pack for day to day use 70 miles or so. Then it's ICE engine kicks in and gives it a 1300+ miles range <<

JamesDo88039200

The rest got cut off...

BYD has the answer it's a plug in of the same size but it has only a small pack for day to day use 70 miles or so. Then it's ICE engine kicks in and gives it a 1300+ miles range <<

JamesDo88039200

Last.try

Then it's ICE engine kicks in and gives it a 1300+ miles range this is critical and the secret sauce. Now you have a serviceable vehicle that can fill up at any of 100000+ fill points in under 5 min and you never have to worry about a charge station if you don't want too. This is the only way I would even consider an EV anything. That 70 mile plug in range lets you do nearly all of your daily driving via cheap plug power. We have solar panels on the wife's roof they make more power than that house uses so it's effectively free charging. Then when I require 600+ miles per sitting the ICE kicks in and it's a very efficient gas burning car with incredible range. That's winning in both ways. Like I said if BYD was allowed to sell them in the USA at anywhere close to $15,000 two would get bought tomorrow.

Roger Pham

>>>>>>>>>>"That's winning in both ways. Like I said if BYD was allowed to sell them in the USA at anywhere close to $15,000 two would get bought tomorrow. "

Reply: I feel your pain, James, but the OverLord of the World don't make enough money if PHEVs are saving us money and convenient for us. They will try to keep them out as much as possible. That's why the prices of drugs are just too high in the USA, as well as housing and a bunch of other stuffs.

Bernard

James,

As I wrote earlier, the circumstances you find yourself in are exceptional. Most of your miles are paid-for by others, so you don't care about cost, and you are willing to put yourself through considerable feats of endurance (45 seconds to pee after a 7 hour drive?). That's your choice.
The lack of charging stations is not an issue in 2025, now that most US-market EVs have access to all types of chargers, and have built-in maps to help you find them (or you can connect your phone). Maintenance costs, and time, would be considerably improved with an EV as well, but that's a side issue.
Looking forward, it's safe to say that the days of $25,000 cars that can run 600+ miles are gone in the US. Almost nobody sells a compact anymore, and the few that are left aren't ideal for longer drives.
Nevertheless, the main point is that your personal needs don't track well with the majority of new car buyers in the US. Even then, you are at the tipping point where an EV makes more sense financially, especially if your clients pay you a fixed mileage fee. You might need to extend your daily break from 45 seconds to 20 minutes, but you'd end-up with more money in your pocket.

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