STORY: Major automakers unveiled new electric vehicles at this week's New York Auto Show, as they face lagging consumer demand and a drop in sales after the Trump administration scrapped EV tax credits.
EV sales accounted for 9.6% of all U.S. sales in 2025, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation trade group.
But EV sales have fallen to 6.5% in the last three months - the lowest since early 2022 - after the $7,500 EV tax credit expired on September 30.
Higher gasoline prices in recent weeks have spurred fresh interest in EVs, and Kia is predicting a bounce-back over the next three or four years.
James Bell is Kia's head of corporate communications.
"We know from being in markets everywhere across the earth that electrification and full EVs is the future. There's no question about that. We're not going back to just using petroleum. It's not the way it's going to be. In the U.S. market, we have some curious circumstances, which are making people maybe embrace gasoline a little bit longer than other markets, but Kia is ready for that. [FLASH] We think that what's happening in the U.S. is just a short-term blip on the radar."
Hyundai said that as fuel prices have risen, particularly in California, the company has seen a trend towards increased EV sales. The automaker has revised its plans to include more hybrid production.
The popularity of hyrbrid vehicles will also lead more people to EVs, says Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive.
"We are seeing that some shopping behavior is changing. More and more people are being open to researching electric vehicles. That's probably really coming from people that were already set on a hybrid at this point."
Kia's new lower-priced EV3 will be available later this year, as will Subaru's new three-row EV, named the "Getaway," its fourth EV model in the U.S. market.
