EV Deals Surge Before Tax Breaks Expire

The upcoming expiration of federal electric vehicle credits is reportedly fueling an automotive sales boom.

It’s the end of an era for the United States car sector, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (Sept. 1). Dealers have spent years selling electric cars but are now preparing for the federal government’s $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases to expire Sept. 30.

Car sellers expect these final weeks to be busy, especially in Colorado, where electric vehicles (EVs) tend to sell quicker than in other states, according to the report. For example, one of the best-selling EVs in that state has been Nissan’s all-electric Ariya SUV.

Nissan has been offering low-cost lease deals that let many first-time buyers purchase an EV that they otherwise couldn’t afford, the report said.

Writing about the impending expiration of the EV tax credits earlier this year, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster highlighted analysts’ projections that the loss of the incentive will cause demand for electric cars to fall by 28% by the end of the decade.

“No incentives to defray higher purchase prices — even before potential tariffs raise the price of new cars — and fewer charging stations create an untenable market dynamic that could push the EV industry into reverse,” Webster wrote March 17. “This all paints a starkly different future for electric cars in America than previously imagined.”

After years of optimism about EV adoption, the U.S. electric vehicle revolution ended up snagged in a “potential platform misfire” not caused by any one flaw, but what seems to be “fundamental misalignments” in what’s needed to spark complex, multi-sided ecosystems, Webster wrote.

“At its core, the EV industry in the U.S. represents a classic multi-sided market — a business ecosystem that requires the right incentives for multiple distinct user groups to participate simultaneously, agree on standards and compete on features and products, not proprietary standards and government subsidies,” she wrote. “When these elements fail to align, the entire system sputters.”

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