General Motors just grabbed 14.4% of America’s electric vehicle market in April 2025, stomping on Tesla‘s toes with a 2 percentage point jump from the previous period. The Detroit automaker pulled this off despite April’s overall EV sales being lower than March. Talk about defying gravity.
GM’s momentum started building in Q1 2025 when they doubled their EV sales compared to the same period last year. Their market share shot up from 6% to 11% during those traditionally slow car-buying months. The real kicker? GM sold 10,300 Chevrolet Equinox EVs in that quarter alone. That’s what happens when you price an EV at $35,000 and give it 300 miles of range. Shocking, right?
Meanwhile, Tesla’s having a rough time. Their US market share plummeted from 51% a year ago to 44% in Q1 2025. Sales dropped 9% year-over-year in America and 13% globally. They delivered 337,000 vehicles worldwide and maintained 43.4% of the US market in Q1, but that’s cold comfort when buyers are fleeing to competitors. The Cybertruck? Let’s just say it’s not saving the day.
The broader EV market tells an interesting story. Electric vehicles hit 7.5% of all new US car sales in Q1 2025, up from 7% the previous year. Total EV sales grew 11.4% year-over-year to about 294,250 units. The Q1 surge brought nearly 300,000 new electric vehicles to American roads. But here’s the thing – market share actually fell from 8.7% in Q4 2024. Growth isn’t always linear.
Ford’s playing too. Their Mustang Mach-E became the best-selling non-Tesla EV in Q1. Stellantis, Honda, and Volkswagen all gained ground. Legacy automakers are eating the startups’ lunch. These manufacturers are capitalizing on a global EV market that recently hit 55% growth from 2021 to 2022.
Tesla’s aging lineup isn’t helping their cause. Neither is the underwhelming Cybertruck performance. GM and others smell blood in the water. They’re offering competitive prices and decent range – imagine that. GM’s luxury brand Cadillac is attracting 80% new buyers to the brand through their electric offerings, with many jumping ship from Tesla.
With potential 25% tariffs looming on imported EVs, the American players might get even stronger. GM’s proving that sometimes the old dogs have new tricks after all.
References
- https://electrek.co/2025/05/22/gm-nabs-nearly-15-new-ev-sales-us-april/
- https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/q1-2025-ev-sales/
- https://caredge.com/guides/electric-vehicle-market-share-and-sales
- https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/ev-market-monitor-april-2025/
- https://evxl.co/2025/04/12/tesla-us-sales-drop-9-in-growing-ev-market/