Who won and lost after Trump cut electric vehicle tax credits?

Updated October 12, 2026, 5:31 p.m. ET

The elimination of the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit has led to a decline in sales of new electric vehicles.
Automakers with strong hybrid vehicle lineups, such as Toyota and Hyundai, have benefited from changing consumer demand.
Detroit automakers such as GM and Ford face challenges as they have invested heavily in an all-electric future.

President Donald Trump eliminated the once-popular $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle buyers in the United States more than a year ago, and signs now point to clear winners and losers from the move.

This tax credit, which was first passed during the administration of former President George W. Bush in 2008 to boost the adoption of electric vehicles, was eliminated on September 30, 2025 by a law passed by congressional Republicans and signed by Trump.

Sales of electric vehicles have fallen since then, although a surge in gasoline prices this year led to something of a renaissance for plug-in models in 2026. The elimination of electric vehicle tax credits also had impacts on other sectors of the industry: Automakers canceled production of several low-selling electric models that they could no longer market at the big discount, and they also revived some popular gas-guzzling vehicles.

Additionally, as consumers sought fuel-efficient models in the wake of average gasoline prices surpassing $4 per gallon, hybrid vehicles saw a strong resurgence in interest as automakers moving away from electric vehicles introduced them to consumers concerned about gasoline prices.

Automakers have sold more than 12 million new cars so far in 2026, a pace similar to their pace in the first nine months of 2025, according to Cox Automotive. Only about 6% of those new car sales this year were electric cars, compared with nearly 10% last year, although sales of used electric vehicles have increased in recent months, according to the group.

With that in mind, the USA TODAY Cars team has put together a list of the biggest winners and losers from Trump’s decision to cut tax credits for electric vehicles.

Winners include Tesla and foreign automakers

1.Tesla

Electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026: 242,100

Best-selling EV model this year: Tesla Model Y

Why they are winners: Tesla had a 10-year head start as the leading U.S. electric car maker, with its buyers having access to federal tax credits since the rebate was created during the administration of former President George W. Bush. Even today, as the company’s CEO Elon Musk takes political positions that have riled some Tesla supporters, Tesla now sells more than 50% of the electric vehicles on American roads. But as more competitors offer new electric models, the $7,500 discount has disappeared.

2.Toyota

Electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026: 21,855

Best-selling electric vehicle model this year: Toyota bZ

Why they are winners: Toyota has been criticized by environmental groups for its decision to continue to rely on hybrid vehicles rather than fully electric vehicles, even as the federal government provided tax credits for electric vehicles under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The end result is that the company had a full line of hybrids ready to go this year, as car buyers shifted to these cars as gasoline prices soared due to the war in Iran. Toyota also successfully fended off the Biden administration’s efforts to provide additional electric vehicle tax credits to Detroit automakers, and the company announced three new electric models.

3.Hyundai

Electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026: 26,936

Best-selling electric vehicle model this year:Hyundai Ioniq 5

Why they are winners: Like Toyota, Hyundai also had several hybrids in its lineup that could be marketed to car buyers hungry for fuel efficiency and who didn’t want to go all-electric. Hyundai also has several fully electric models that they have marketed to people who are open to plug-in models, so they have several options in both categories.

4. Kia

Electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026: 12,627

Best-selling electric vehicle model this year: Kia EV9

Why they are winners: Like its South Korean sister brand, Kia also offers several hybrids in its lineup that were already on the market. Additionally, like Hyundai, Kia offers several fully electric models that they have marketed to people who are open to plug-in models, even without the federal discount.

Losers, including Detroit automakers and Volkswagen

1. General engines

Electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026: 56,679

Best-selling electric vehicle model this year: Chevrolet Equinox EV

Why they are losers: GM says it is the second-largest seller of electric vehicles in the country, behind Tesla. Company CEO Mary Barra said during a recent appearance on Fortune’s “Titans” podcast that her company is still committed to a future of developing primarily electric vehicles, even though that now seems much further away than most initial industry projections.

“I don’t think it’s changed our mission,” Barra said in an interview. “We still think electric vehicles are the end game.” GM’s electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026 were strong compared to its competitors. But unlike Tesla, which built its dominant electric vehicle presence with help from the federal tax credit, GM now faces a future in which car buyers won’t be incentivized by the federal government to buy electric vehicles for the foreseeable future. GM sold more than 78,000 electric vehicles in the first half of 2025, when the tax credits were still available. But this year, without tax credits, their electric vehicle sales fell below 57,000.

2. Ford

Electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026: 16,606

Best-selling electric vehicle model this year: Ford Mustang Mach-E

Why they are losers: Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a July 2026 interview with USA TODAY that his company’s new $30,000 Fathom electric pickup truck will be its most important car of the future. But the Dearborn automaker also announced plans this year to transition its F-150 Lightning pickup, once considered a revolutionary electric vehicle, from a fully electric car to a type of hybrid car known as an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV). The company is therefore now entering the next phase of the EV transition without an electric version of its signature pickup.

3.Volkswagen

Electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026: 3,768

Best-selling electric vehicle model this year: Volkswagen ID.4

Why they are losers: After years of heavy investment in electric cars, in part because of a decade-old deal with the federal government over cheating on diesel emissions, Volkswagen announced earlier this year that it was ending production of its U.S.-built ID.4 electric crossover, which was its most popular domestic electric vehicle and the only VW model whose U.S. sales grew in 2025. But as more buyers consider electric vehicles in a Amid rising gasoline prices, Volkswagen’s only domestic electric car is now the ID Buzz minivan. Even hybrid versions of its most popular SUVs will be available for years.

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