Electric vehicle sales in North America fell in July despite an uptick in global sales figures, as a lack of incentives and the President Donald Trump administration's pro-fossil-fuel policies continue to impact adoption.
US EV Sales Fell 18% Year-To-Date
According to data released by market research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence on Thursday, cited by Electrek, which also includes Plug-In Hybrid vehicles, North American EV sales in July came in at 140,000 units, representing a 27% year-on-year drop since July 2025. During the first seven months of the year, EV sales in North America came in at 900,000, which represents an 18% decline from the same period last year.
The decline could be attributed to a weakened incentive environment after Trump rescinded the $7,500 Federal EV credit last year at the end of September, which also took away the $4,000 credit on used EVs in the U.S. The President had earlier criticized EV drivers, saying that they "have a disease."
Europe Leads the Charge, Chinese Sales Fall
In Europe, sales made big gains as 450,000 units were sold during July, according to the data, representing a 33% YoY growth. During the first seven months of the year, sales grew to 3 million units in the region, which constituted a 28% growth from last year.
France, Germany and Britain posted double-digit growth in sales during July at 81%, 46% and 43%, respectively, the report said.
In China, which is the largest automotive market in the world, sales fell 5% in July compared to last year to 980,000 units. Year-to-date, sales fell 12% to 5.9 million units. Sales in the rest of the world surged 97% to 280,000 units during July, the report said.
Gavin Newsom's EV Push
Weak EV sales in the U.S. come as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has touted the state's MyFirstEV program as a response to Chinese automakers' growing influence in the new energy market. Under the program, first-time EV buyers in California will be eligible for a $3,500 discount on new EVs and a $1,750 discount on used EVs.
Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) also confirmed it was participating in the program alongside Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID). However, Tesla reported that it had already exhausted allocated funds for the program within four days after its launch.