Hyundai And Kia’s EV Sales Collapsed In October—Expect More Pain Ahead

It’s going to be a rough quarter for EVs

Well, we knew it was coming. High EV sales in the third quarter were largely the result of consumers trying to take advantage of the federal tax credit, which fell away at the end of September in the United States.

Industry analysts warned that a sharp decline in EV sales would follow, and based on the first October sales results from Hyundai and Kia, they were right. Both Korean brands still saw strong sales of gas- and hybrid-powered models, but it was a completely different story for their EVs.

Related: Ranked: The 5 Best-Selling EVs Of The Year So Far

Sales of Core Kia and Hyundai EVs Plummet

In October, the only EV from the two Korean giants that didn’t see a decline in year-on-year sales was the Hyundai Ioniq 9, but that’s only because the three-row electric SUV wasn’t on sale this time last year. In October 2025, Hyundai sold 317 examples of the SUV.

The core EVs from the two brands are the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Kia EV6, and Kia EV9. Here’s how their sales numbers looked last month.

Every key EV model from the two brands saw sales decline by over 50% year-on-year last month. The Ioniq 5’s 63% decline came despite the fact that Hyundai slashed its price by close to $10,000 on selected trims, which comfortably exceeds the maximum tax credit amount of $7,500.

Kia also sells the Niro EV, but its sales are grouped together with the regular Niro and Niro Hybrid, so it’s unclear how many fully electric variants were sold.

Despite these dismal results, both brands’ hybrids continue to perform well. Hyundai’s hybrid sales increased by 41% last month compared to October 2024, while Kia’s electrified models jumped by 16%, despite the decline of its EVs.

More Bad EV News Expected

Hyundai and Kia were two of the first automakers to report October 2025 results, but we expect to see similar declines for other brands in the coming days and weeks. Many brands, including Ford and GM, saw record EV sales in Q3 as buyers scrambled to take advantage of the tax credit.

It’s too early to tell what the full impact of the scrapped tax credit will be, but Ford CEO Jim Farley predicted that EV market share will fall to around 5% by the end of the year, at least half of where it is now.

Without the tax credit influencing buying decisions, we’re also likely to see which EVs are most popular in the coming months.