The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has reported a slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the United States for 2025, even as the number of available EV models reached a record high.
According to the latest Get Connected Electric Vehicle Report (Q4 2025), EVs accounted for 6.5% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the fourth quarter of 2025, a sharp drop from 12.6% in Q3. For the full year, EV market share stood at 9.6%, slightly down from 10.2% in 2024.
Despite the dip in sales, the U.S. market now offers 164 electric models, including cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans—highlighting continued investment and expansion by automakers.
The report noted a significant year-on-year decline, with 187,000 fewer EVs registered in Q4 2025 compared to the same period in 2024—a 43% drop in volume. Overall vehicle sales also declined by 5% during the quarter. However, hybrid vehicles gained traction, increasing their market share by 3.5 percentage points, while internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles saw a slight recovery.
For the full year, total EV registrations reached 1.51 million units, marking a modest 4% decline from 2024. Meanwhile, the total light-duty vehicle market grew by 2.2%, indicating a shift in consumer preference toward alternative powertrains like hybrids.
On the infrastructure front, the report highlighted a persistent gap between EV adoption and charging availability. While public EV chargers increased by 22% year-over-year in Q4 2025, the number of EVs on the road grew faster at 25%. This resulted in a ratio of one new public charger for every 29 newly registered EVs.
Currently, the U.S. has approximately 7.3 million EVs in operation—accounting for 2.5% of all vehicles—and 236,945 public charging outlets, translating to about 31 EVs per charging port.
The composition of charging infrastructure is also evolving. Non-Tesla fast chargers now outnumber new installations by Tesla, whose share of new fast-charging installations declined from 55% in 2023 to 39% in 2025.
Geographically, EV adoption remains highly concentrated. Half of all registered EVs are located in just 42 counties, representing only 1.4% of U.S. counties. Additionally, 25 counties reported no EV registrations at all, underscoring the uneven distribution of both EVs and charging infrastructure.
Among states, California led EV registrations with a 17% share in Q4 2025, though this marked a significant decline from the previous quarter. Only a handful of regions, including Washington, Nevada, Oregon, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, recorded EV market shares above 10%.
The findings reflect a transitional phase for the U.S. EV market, where expanding model availability contrasts with slowing adoption and infrastructure bottlenecks—highlighting the need for balanced growth in both supply and support systems.
