GM Sees Strong EV Sales Growth In 2025

Last Updated on: 10th June 2025, 10:31 am

Are EV sales fading or gathering strength in the US? You can be forgiven if you are confused about the correct answer to that question. Last week, AAA said that according to its latest survey, the percentage of Americans who say they are thinking about purchasing an EV the next time they are in the market for a new car is at the lowest level it has been since 2019. And yet, this morning, GM is crowing about how its EV sales so far in 2025 have been strong and getting stronger. In a press release dated June 9, 2025, the company said:

“Driven by our broad portfolio of 13 EVs from Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC, GM has solidified its position as the #2 seller of EVs in the U.S., with more than 62,000 EVs sold in the U.S. year to date through May.

“In the 2025 first quarter, Chevrolet became the fastest growing domestic EV brand, surpassing Ford. For the year through May, Chevrolet has sold more than 37,000 EVs in the U.S., compared to 34,000 for Ford. GM will report second quarter sales on July 1.

“May was GM’s second-best month in history for EV sales, which follows 94% year-over-year growth in the first quarter. In the first two months of the second quarter, GM’s share of the U.S. EV market was about 15.5%, more than double our position a year ago and approaching the company’s national market share of 17%.”

That’s all pretty good news for those of us who are advocates for electric vehicles. Rory Harvey, president of global markets at GM, said: “Customers are responding in record numbers to our world-class portfolio of electric and gas-powered vehicles. In the first two months of the second quarter, we more than doubled our EV sales compared to the same period last year.”

The press release went on to say that GM electric car customers now have access to more than 250,000 public chargers across North America. “In late March, Pilot Company, GM, and EVgo Inc. reached a major milestone in their nationwide electric vehicle charging collaboration, now offering fast-charging infrastructure at more than 130 locations across 25-plus states. GM is also part of Ionna, a joint venture with seven other automakers that plans to open 30,000 charging bays across the US by 2030.”

Sharp-eyed readers will note the company studiously avoided mention that its electric vehicles now come with NACS charging ports as standard equipment, which means they can make use of many Tesla Superchargers as well. Around the cucumber water bar in the CleanTechnica employees lounge, we find that a curious omission.

Scott Bell, vice president of global Chevrolet, told the Detroit Free Press more than half of its EV sales this year were what are known in the business as conquest sales, meaning they came from customers who had never owned a Chevrolet product before. The most popular EV from the Bow Tie brand is the Equinox EV. So far thus year, 21,804 of those little beauties have found their way from Chevy showrooms to customers’ driveways.

“It’s certainly the most affordable EV out there with that kind of range. It is by far the leader in the clubhouse — it doubles our Blazer volume easily on a monthly basis. Once you convert to an EV, you’re not leaving. Especially once you’ve invested in the infrastructure, a home charger, 86% of them will stay,” Bell said.

We, of course, are quick to point out the seemingly little known fact that if the average American drives less than 40 miles a day — which most Americans do — a good old fashioned 120 volt wall outlet in the garage is all they will need. People seem to think their electric cars need to be charged rapidly, even if they are sitting idle for 10 to 12 hours overnight. But we digress.

GM sold 62,830 electric vehicles across all brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC — from January to May of this year. 37,620 of those sales were from the Chevrolet division, which currently offers customers a choice of two battery electric SUVs — the midsize Equinox EV and the larger Blazer EV. A second-generation Chevy Bolt is in development and is expected to be in showrooms sometime next year.

Ford is the other Detroit-based EV manufacturer and the only one that routinely issues monthly sales reports. It said so far this year it has sold 34,132 electric vehicles. Ford currently has three EVs in its lineup — the Mustang Mach-E, there F-150 Lightning pickup truck, and the E-Transit van. The Free Press noted it is unusual for GM to report monthly sales — something it hasn’t done since 2019. So it must be feeling pretty good about how its electric offerings are doing.

Storm Clouds Over The EV Revolution

Building cars — any cars — in the US today is fraught with challenges of a political nature. The current administration has chosen to initiate a trade war with the entire world as it pursues its grievance-based agenda. As a result, the price of such basic raw materials used in the industry such as steel and aluminum is now volatile. The car business calculates is materials costs down to the nearest penny. It likes certainty but is getting market chaos instead. In addition, the current administration is openly hostile to anything that smacks of the “woke mind virus” that favors saving the planet from fossil fuel pollution — particularly renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Alan Haig, who specializes in dealership mergers and acquisitions, told the Free Press that customers are coming to GM showrooms in greater numbers, partly to check out the electric cars on display. “GM’s in a really good spot right now. Their electric vehicles are selling well, but their (conventional cars) are selling better. Sitting here today, most customers are choosing gas. And when that tax credit goes away, it’s going to pull demand away from EVs even more.”

GM, like its competitors, is feeling the wind changing direction when it comes to electric vehicles. Although CEO Mary Barra says the company remains committed to the future of EVs, GM has just announced a nearly $1 billion investment in next-generation V-8 engines. It has also reduced the number of EV motors it plans to produce and raised the number of truck transmissions.

Alan Haig pointed out GM has already invested billions in EV manufacturing. “They’re trying to get a return on investment on all these products, but if the CARB mandate is eliminated, ultimately, they’ve got shareholders they need to answer to and they’re making very strong profits on their trucks and SUVs.”

“The customer was telling us they weren’t ready,” Barra said recently at the Future of Everything conference in New York City, where she appeared jubilant about the government’s push to revoke California’s EPA emissions waiver. “I’ve been saying for a couple of years now that I thought the regulatory environment was getting in front of the customer, and I’ve always said that we needed one national standard,” she said. “We have a portfolio, we’re committed, but frankly, this was necessary for the customer.”

In the US, the S curve for EV adoption is looking more and more like a gentle slope. Customers may love their V-8 powered trucks, but the rest of the world seems set to leave America behind, making the US increasingly irrelevant on the world stage.

Editor’s note: Cadillac is the #2 brand nationally for the percentage of its sales that are now EV sales, with almost 20%, or 1 out of 5, new car sales being electric.