EV sales plummet in wake of subsidy expiration and MLG Administration leases 300 gas-powered cars

According to CNBC, in the wake of the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV subsidy for EV purchases, Ford reported a 25% drop in EV sales. Kia and Hyundai reported sales of their top EV models dropped between 52% and 71% from the last year. Not all car manufacturers report their sales monthly, it is likely that similar results befell EV sales across various manufacturers. Notably, sales of gas/electric hybrids continue to rise.

There are STILL various federal and state EV subsidies on the books (including here in New Mexico), but the $7,500 federal credit was the most generous. It certainly seems that EV buyers were much more willing to buy the cars with the subsidies. Will those sales rebound? We doubt it.

KOAT Channel 7 recently reported that the MLG Administration has leased 300 internal combustion vehicles. This, despite the fact that under an executive order signed in October 2023, “all state agencies shall acquire ZEVs for all new vehicle acquisitions where one or more ZEV options for the appropriate class of vehicle are available.” And, by 2035, the state’s entire fleet will be 100 percent zero emission.

This is classic MLG: impose strict and unrealistic policies (especially environmental) but do whatever you want and let your successor deal with the fallout of unrealistic laws/regulations (see Energy Transition Act).