Automakers unveil new EVs despite slump in demand

New York [US], April 2: Major automakers unveiled new electric vehicles at the New York Auto Show ​on Wednesday, despite lagging consumer demand and a sharp downturn in sales after Washington eliminated a $7,500 EV tax .
Kiasaid it would begin selling its lower-priced EV3 in the United States later this year, while Subaru offered a new three-row EV named the "Getaway" that can seat seven. The Japanese automaker's family EV SUV will go on sale later this year or next year, its fourth EV ​model in the US market.
Automakers are facing a tougher US. EV market but higher gasoline prices in recent weeks ​have spurred fresh interest.
"The market is going to come back for EVs - maybe not as quickly as we all would have liked," said Russell Wager, vice president of marketing at Kia America. "We're committedto it."
Kia said ​the U.S. EV market could return to where it was in the next three or four years.
GMrecently began selling its Chevrolet ​Bolt EV that starts at $27,600 after it ended the prior generation in 2023.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing GM , Ford, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen , Hyundai , Stellantisand other major automakers, said EV sales were 9.6% of all U.S. sales in 2025 but fell to 6.5% in ​the last three months - the lowest since early 2022 - after the $7,500 EV tax credit expired onSeptember 30.
Christian Meunier, chairman of ​Nissan Americas, said the U.S. market has dropped substantially.
"When you look at the EV market right now, there's no demand," Meunier said in interview with Reuters at the New York Auto Show. "The demand has disappeared. It's like 7% of the market, and half of that is stimulated by very heavy incentives, so it's not natural demand."
Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz said that as fuel prices have risen, particularly in California, the company has seen a trend towards increased EV sales, "not driven by regulation, but driven by the market ​conditions." The automaker has revised ​its plans to include more hybrid production.
"I think we're going to see an evolution where, step by step, EVs will increase a little bit, let's say maybe 10-15% of the market, but not like 50 or ​60 percent," Munoz told Reuters. David Christ, general manager of the Toyota Division at Toyota Motor North ​America (7203.T), opens new tab, said that the Japanese automaker is introducing three EVs in the U.S. this year, and higher fuel prices would provide a boost.
"I don't think they're going to get a boost back to the incentivized government money levels, but it'll be higher than it would have been without the gas ​price shock," Christ said.
EVs now account for 2.5 percent of total light-duty vehicles ​in operation in the US. EV sales accounted for 10.2 percent of total vehicle sales in 2024.
President Donald Trump has taken a series of steps to disincentivize ​EV purchases and production and make it easier to produce gas-powered models.
Source: Qatar Tribune