2025 EV Sales So Far: GM Wins, Tesla Loses

First-quarter sales results are rolling in, and things are looking up for most automakers. Toyota sales are off to a strong start, Mazda and Subaru had record months, and Kia had its best quarter ever. But when digging into the data, results for electric vehicles were much more mixed.

Tesla’s quarterly sales plunged 13 percent, delivering 336,681 vehicles through the first three months of 2025. Rivian reported delivering 8,640 vehicles, down 36 percent. But General Motors reported a 94 percent increase in EV sales for the same period, selling 31,887 EVs.

Only the Cadillac Lyriq saw its sales fall at GM, down 25.9 percent. However, Cadillac launched the Optiq and Escalade IQ EV, which more than made up for the Lyriq’s losses last quarter, and increased Cadillac EV sales overall. 

Every other GM EV, including the GMC Hummer, saw its sales increase compared to last year. Sales for the burly EV were up 108.6 percent, moving 3,479 units in Q1. The Chevrolet Equinox EV remains GM’s best-selling EV, with 10,329 sold. It’s been on sale for less than a year.

Thanks to the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit, EV sales were up 11.5 percent at Ford to 22,550. The automaker sold 11,607 electric Mustangs, up 21.0 percent, and 3,756 vans, a 29.9 percent jump. Those two made up for the 7.2 percent dip in F-150 Lightning sales last quarter, with the company selling 7,187 electric pickups.

BMW’s battery-electric vehicles also had a strong start to the year, increasing 26.4 percent overall—13,585 for the quarter. BMW i4 and iX sales jumped 57 and 23.1 percent, respectively, making up for the 15.2 and 10.4 percent dip in i5 and i7 sales.

Photo by: BMW

Kia saw sales dip for the EV6 and EV9, down 7.9 and 6.3 respectively. At Hyundai, the Ioniq 5 saw its sales increase by 26.0 percent, while Ioniq 6 sales fell by 9.0 percent. Subaru Soltera sales jumped 172.9 percent, from 1,147 in Q1 2024 to 3,131 in Q1 2025. Toyota bZ4X sales increased 105.7 percent, to 5,610. However, sales for the Lexus RZ fell 9.3 percent.

Volkswagen ID.4 sales were also up, increasing 24.3 percent to 7,663. The automaker just added the ID.Buzz to its lineup, which has moved 1,901 units so far. Nissan Ariya sales increased 0.1 percent to 4,148, while the Leaf jumped 103.4 percent—1,142 to 2,154 units.

Other EVs on sale haven’t been on the market long enough to see if sales are up or down. Honda has sold 9,561 Prologue and 4,813 Acura ZDX crossovers this year. Stellantis just began offering the Jeep Wagoneer S and the Dodge Charger Daytona EV, moving 2,595 electric crossovers, and 1,947 coupes.

Just a few years ago, automakers made considerable promises to electrify their lineups. Gas was out, and batteries were in. But buyers didn’t show up as expected, leading companies to temper their electrification plans. Policy changes and proposed tariffs could soon wreak havoc on the growing EV market, and next quarter’s results will better indicate the market’s future.