By Ryan Felton

The electric-vehicle industry hit a pothole in April.

Sales of EVs in the U.S. fell by around 5% during the month, according to estimates from the research firm Motor Intelligence, while the broader car market grew by 10%. Monthly EV sales in the U.S. have only declined three times since 2021.

The declines were across most brands, from Kia and Hyundai to Ford. Tesla, which has accounted for around half of EV sales in the U.S., reported that sales dropped nearly 13%. Sales of Rivian's R1T pickup and R1S SUV declined by half.

On Tuesday, Rivian cut its sales outlook for the year by around 5,000 units, citing the impact of President Trump's trade policy on EV demand.

"The challenge is consumers are more price-sensitive than they typically have been and are looking for lower-price alternatives," said Rivian Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe. Rivian vehicles sell for around $88,000, on average, limiting potential buyers, he said.

Dealers cited several factors for the drop, from cooling customer interest to fewer promotions and discounts that juiced sales in the past.

Mickey Anderson, whose Baxter Auto Group runs about 20 stores in Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado, said discounts had fueled a lot of the demand. "I think natural demand is probably half that," said Anderson. The company sells over a dozen EV models from several brands.

At Longo Toyota in El Monte, Calif., the dealership's president, Doug Eroh, said customers still come in to inquire about the battery-powered Toyota bZ4X, but they often leave in gas-powered vehicles because of charging-related concerns.

"They get attracted by a payment, but when they start thinking about how it will impact their life, they opt for a car that will give them less stress," he said.

In April, sales of the bZ4X, Toyota's sole EV model in the U.S., declined by nearly 80%.

While sales of many of the most popular electric models fell in April, Tesla accounted for much of the decline. Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment, but it has said recent sales in the first quarter were hit by blowback over CEO Elon Musk's closeness to Trump as well as a planned production shutdown that limited sales of the Model Y SUV. The company said it would revisit its sales forecast for the year in the second quarter.

"Tesla has been the killer whale, and they're down," said Geoffrey Pohanka, chairman of Pohanka Automotive Group, which sells Volkswagen, Kia, Toyota and other brands in the Washington, D.C., area.

Pohanka said a lot of market forces are making it difficult to predict what will happen with EV sales. "It's whipsawing back and forth," he said. "It's kind of hard to look at one month and say that's the trend."

Dealers have often cited bargain-basement deals as one of the biggest reasons customers bought an EV.

"Crazy EV lease deals, at least over the last month, don't seem to be what they were just a few months ago," said Ed Kim, president of the industry analyst firm AutoPacific.

For example, Kim said, some shoppers were able to lease a $42,000 Hyundai Ioniq 5 for less than a $22,000 Elantra gas-powered sedan, the South Korean automaker's entry-level model.

Hyundai said the decline in its EV sales in April was mostly a result of shifting production to a new factory in Georgia. "Hyundai remains confident in the long-term growth of the U.S. EV market," said Randy Parker, head of the company's North American operations.

April's sales might have also been hit by shoppers who rushed to buy EVs because Trump has threatened to cancel a $7,500 federal tax credit on electric-vehicle purchases. "Any vehicles that would've been sold in April, May, June likely got purchased in the first quarter," said Sam Fiorani, an analyst with the industry consultant AutoForecast Solutions.

Write to Ryan Felton at ryan.felton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 07, 2025 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

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