GM Kills It, Racks Up New Monthly EV Sales Record

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With the untimely death of the EV tax credit looming just a few weeks away on September 30, General Motors is among the US automakers celebrating a last-minute EV sales bonanza. The celebrating will most likely dissolve into tears come October. Nevertheless, GM has made it clear that EVs are here to stay, and the company’s head of North America operations has just explained how they expect to weather the coming storm.

GM Is Still The #2 Automaker In US EV Sales

GM has had great fun with its status as the #2 EV seller in the US over the past couple of years, topped only by longtime industry leader Tesla. The fun continued into August, when GM added up the numbers to total sales of 21,000 EVs from its Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC branches combined.

“August was our best month ever for EV sales — and we expect that buying surge to pay long-term dividends,” notes Duncan Aldred, Senior VP and President of GM North America.

“GM remains the #2 EV seller, driven by strong demand for vehicles like the Chevrolet Equinox EV, the Cadillac LYRIQ, and the GMC Sierra EV,” he added, in an article posted on the company’s website on September 2.

EV Sales: How It Started …

In the same post, Aldred dropped a hint about why the company is confident in the long-term staying power of the EV market, citing “EV customers’ overwhelming commitment to the technology.” That’s shorthand for surveys that show that most EV drivers will stick with an EV for their next vehicle.

Somewhat oddly, none other than Shell recently surveyed EV drivers in Europe, the US, and China. “Signalling a strong commitment to the transition towards electric mobility, nine in ten (91%) current EV drivers (both Battery EVs and Plug-in Hybrid EVs) indicate they would consider another EV as their next vehicle,” Shell noted.

Aldred also took note of GM’s track record on manufacturer loyalty, referring to the likelihood that anyone who buys from GM will come back around to GM the next time they need another vehicle. That’s not just GM’s opinion. In February, the company gave itself a pat on the back for earning the Highest Overall Manufacturer Loyalty award from S&P Global Mobility for the 10th consecutive year in 2024.

“For a decade now, if you drive a GM vehicle, you’re more likely to stick with our brands than to go to a competitor when you buy your next ride,” GM emphasized.

… How It’s Going

That’s all well and good, but the loss of the $7,500 federal tax credit is going to sting. In the same blog post, Aldred affirmed that GM is cutting back on EV production in anticipation of a near-term drop in EV sales after September 30.

However, Duncan also emphasized that GM intends to ride out the storm. He notes that the company was seeing its EV sales on the upswing before the tax credit came into being as a provision of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which he attributes to GM’s focus on the affordability end of the EV market as well as the luxury end. All else being equal, the company expects to see sales continue in those categories, through the company’s high-end Cadillac EVs along with the Chevrolet Equinox and the forthcoming rebirth of the affordable Chevy Bolt.

If all goes according to plan, Duncan also expects more and more sales from the company’s Chevrolet, GMC, and Hummer pickup trucks and SUVs. That remains to be seen, but GM also has a trump card to play, so to speak. If more people don’t want to buy more EVs over the coming months, that’s just fine with GM.

“As we adjust to the new EV market realities, the strength of our ICE portfolio will continue to separate our brands from the pack and give us flexibility and profitability that EV-only companies lack,” Duncan notes. Hmm … who is he referring to?

GM Smells Blood In The EV Sales Water

Duncan’s comments about EV-only companies seem directed mainly at small-scale startups, but Tesla also comes in for its share of ribbing.

“Meanwhile, we are seeing marginal competitors dramatically scale back their products and plans, which should end much of the overproduction and irrational discounts we’ve seen in the marketplace,” Aldred wrote, most likely referring to Tesla’s Cybertruck debacle.

The discounting trend over at Tesla surfaced last year, when signs of weakness in the company’s sales began to surface. The discounts continued into this year as sales began to slide off a cliff.

Still, GM and other automakers have a long hill to climb if they will ever catch up to Tesla on EV sales. Despite Tesla’s ongoing brand reputation crisis, the company still accounted for almost 50% of all EV sales in the US in Q2 of this year.

“With almost 144,000 sales, Tesla had more than four times as many sales as #2 Chevrolet,” CleanTechnica editor Zachary Shahan observed on August 31, adding that “Ford and Hyundai are in a tight race for #3, with 5.5% and 5.3% share of the US EV market, respectively.”

Next Steps For The US EV Market

GM’s optimistic outlook on the strength of long-term EV sales is somewhat tempered by an apparent plateauing of interest among the general car-buying public.

“EV share of the overall US auto market dropped to 7.4% in the second quarter, down year over year from 8.1% in Q2 2024, and also down quarter over quarter from 7.6% in Q1 2025…7.4% EV market share is the worst its been since Q1 2024 when the share was 7.2%,” CleanTechnica noted on September 1.

That tracks with the aforementioned Shell survey. In contrast to the high number of EV drivers who look forward to their next EV purchase, Shell found that more ICE drivers were less inclined to try out an EV.

Persistent gaps in public EV charging availability as well as shortcomings in the public charging experience can take part of the blame. GM sees that hurdle melting away.

“By the end of the year, our customers will have access to more than 65,000 public fast-charging bays across the country. We expect that will grow to more than 80,000 by the end of next year and 100,000 by the end of 2027 — a more than 50% improvement in just three years,” Aldred wrote, citing the EVGo and IONNA fast charging networks as well as its own GM Energy branch.

With affordability top of mind, GM also expects new low-cost LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries to sustain its long-term EV sales profile into the future, regardless of the shifting winds of federal electrification policy. After all, EV technology isn’t going anywhere, but US presidents come and go every 4–8 years. Meanwhile, GM has been around since 1908. Just saying…

Photo (cropped): General Motors is among the US automakers planing ahead for a long term rebound in EV sales, despite the impending demise of the federal tax credit (courtesy of GM).