U.S. EV Sales Fell 30% This Year — and the Best Deals All Expire November 2

Sales of battery-electric vehicles in the United States came to 725,888 through September, down 30% from a year earlier, according to Car and Driver’s count using estimates from Cox Automotive. The third quarter was down 40% from 2025, when shoppers were still taking a federal credit of up to $7,500 that ended on September 30. Kelley Blue Book put the September new-EV transaction price at $55,879, with incentives averaging 11% of transaction price — about $6,147 per vehicle — the lowest this year and down from 14.2% a year earlier.

What is still on offer ends November 2, and the terms show how the post-credit market works. Kia will put $5,000 toward a new 2026 EV6 if you buy it and take delivery by that Monday; the money must go into the purchase and does not apply to a lease. Kelley Blue Book lists one EV6 lease, on the Light Long Range, at $369 a month for 36 months with $4,499 due at signing, plus 0% financing for 60 months. Hyundai’s deadline is the same Monday: a 2026 Ioniq 5 can be financed at 0.9% for 60 months with Hyundai Motor Finance approval, with listings showing $3,500 in bonus cash when financing with Hyundai, which may not combine with other specials. Toyota’s offer on the bZ is 1.49% financing through November 2, and Toyota is the electric brand that grew.

The arithmetic buyers should do is first-year cost, not just the headline cash. Kelley Blue Book’s cost-to-own model takes $15,371 off a 2026 EV6 in year one, so Kia’s $5,000 is about a third of that first-year drop. Insurance is the smaller bill: Insurify, using quotes from its own database, puts the national average at $2,960 a year for an Ioniq 5 and $2,478 for a RAV4, a gap of about $40 a month. The practical advice from the listings is blunt: have the store print the line you are actually getting before November 2, because a rate on a worksheet is a different offer from the $5,000 purchase cash.