The Americans flooded the car shows in the summer. The reason was the pursuit of the federal tax relief for the purchase of an electric car of $ 7,500, which will end in September 30. In July alone, 130,000 electric vehicles were sold – the second highest monthly result in the history of the United States. In August, electric vehicles estimated were a record 12 percent of all new cars, writes Washington Post.
The decline in prices also contributed to the growth of demand. The average price of an electric car in July was $ 55,700 – about $ 7,600 more than an average petrol car. However, economists point out that it was more of a short -term effect than the beginning of the long -term trend. “We will see the effect of the whip – a sharp increase and the subsequent slump,” warns the analyst of ISEECARS.com Karl Brauer.
The end of the big plans
At the beginning of the reign of Joe Biden, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis promised a massive transition to electric cars. GM even announced that by 2035 the production of cars with an internal combustion engine. Congress supported the transformation of tax relief and a package of $ 7.5 billion to build charging stations.
Today, reality is different. Automakers are retreating from their electrical plans, tax relief ends, and Donald Trump’s government has suspended charging infrastructure. “Sales of electric vehicles will grow more slowly than expected,” says Robby Degraff, Analyst of Autopacific. Last year, she predicted that in 2029 a quarter of the US cars sold would be fully electric. Now he moderates his estimate – to 12 percent. For comparison in the Czech Republic, there are about 5.5 % of newly sold electric cars.
The weakening demand can have serious consequences for climatic policy. Transport in the US is about 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Experts warn that without a faster transition to electromobility, the number of cars with an internal combustion engine on roads will increase by more than 8 million. This complicates the effort to meet the goal by 61 percent by 2030 compared to 2005.
The situation of manufacturers is also complicated by the current customs policy of Washington. “The margins of electric vehicles were already so low. The new duties on imported parts are even more reduced,” explains Tyson Yomina from JD Power.
The tax relief ends at the time when battery cars are finally approaching classic combustion cars, and although the federal plan for recharge stations has been delayed, the number of public charges has been more than doubled since 2021.
Analysts agree that electric vehicles in the US do not expect extinction, but rather a long period of slow and uncertain growth. “Electric vehicles are not dead,” Degraff concludes. “It’s just a longer way than we thought a few years ago.”
