CA drivers rushed to buy EVs before feds’ tax rebate ended, setting sales record
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- California buyers purchased 124,700 ZEVs in Q3 2025, hitting record sales.
- Sales spike tied to September 30, 2025 phaseout of federal EV tax credits.
- California continues litigation to defend waiver authority and emissions goals.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday celebrated Californians’ purchase of more than 124,700 zero-emission vehicles in the third quarter of 2025.
The announcement comes as California fights the federal government in court over its clean-car authority and as the One Big, Beautiful Act ends federal EV tax credits, reshaping state electric vehicle goals across the country.
“This is unprecedented – we’re nearing a third of all new vehicles sold in the fourth-largest economy on the planet being clean cars,” Newsom said in a news release.
“While Trump sells out American innovation to China, California will keep charging ahead on our path to a future of cleaner air.”
Sales surge ahead of rebate deadline
Experts attribute the strong sales numbers to the phaseout of federal EV tax credits.
The Trump administration’s One Big, Beautiful Act ended federal EV incentives last month, cutting off rebates of up to $7,500 for new and $4,000 for used zero-emission vehicles purchased after September 30, 2025.
“Sales are notably higher than they would have been, although it is difficult to say exactly how much higher,” wrote David Bunch, professor emeritus of Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis, in an email.
Bunch noted that EV sales had stayed around 25% of new cars in 2023 and 2024, dipped earlier this year, then jumped to a record 29% in the third quarter. Without the rebate deadline, Bunch said, EV sales likely would have declined slightly for the first time.
“Although the 29% figure is nice to see, this does not change the fact that EV sales have flattened out after very large growth a few years ago,” he added.
Alan Jenn, an assistant professor at the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis agreed the strong sales numbers are likely connected to the sunsetting of federal tax credits, as many consumers rushed to take advantage of the rebates before they disappear. At the same time, he doesn’t expect demand to “collapse” moving forward.
“While we know that incentives helped to increase sales, they were not responsible for all of the sales that happened in the past ... studies typically show 20%-50% increase in sales thanks to incentives, so the remaining would likely still happen.”
California’s fight to defend its clean-car authority
California is currently in a legal battle to overturn the Congressional Review Act resolutions signed by President Trump that aim to revoke federal waivers permitting the state to set its own vehicle emissions standards toward 100% zero-emission new car sales by 2035.
In June, the Trump administration signed three CRA resolutions overturning several of California’s major climate programs, including its Advanced Clean Cars II rules, the latest evolution of the state’s zero-emission vehicle rules. They remain unenforceable amid ongoing litigation, leaving California with only regulatory guidance and no binding mandates in effect for now.
“We are determined to defend our authority in court so we can reduce these harmful air emissions and continue to move the market forward,” Lindsay Buckley, a spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board, said Monday.
In response to Trump’s move, California’s top officials sued the federal government, asserting that the action violates federal law and undermines decades of climate progress, endangering California’s economy and the health of its residents.
“In the 50 years since the Clean Air Act was enacted, waivers have never been subject to the CRA,” Attorney General Rob Bonta’s news release stated in June.
“If California is prevented from enforcing these vehicle emission standards, it will result in the loss of significant economic and public health benefits, costing California taxpayers an estimated $45 billion in preventable health care costs.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 3:51 PM.
