LA Auto Show Automakers Optimistic About Future of Electric Vehicles Despite Recent Sales Drop
FOX Business’ Max Gorden joins “Varney & Co.” to discuss how the end of federal electric vehicle tax credits is shaking up sales and how Hyundai is betting big on electric and hybrid models.
At the time of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the debate on the future of electric vehicles is in the spotlight.
Many automakers are touting their electric vehicle offerings, even after electric vehicle sales fell sharply in October after the $7,500 federal tax incentive expired at the end of September.
Electric vehicle sales declined nearly 60% nationally in October, according to JD Power, and now represent just 5.2% of total monthly new vehicle sales, down from 12.9% in September.
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Cars on a track inside the 2025 LA Auto Show in Los Angeles, California. (FOX Business Network)
But some auto experts say that while sales may slow with the tax credit’s repeal, electric vehicles won’t disappear.
“People who don’t like electric vehicles might say, ‘Oh my God, they’re dead.’ Totally false,” said Ed Loh, editorial director of Motor Trend. “I think right now we’re going to see the strongest survive. So the ones that are making really good electric vehicles at a decent price, you’ll see them bounce back.”
Hyundai has several electric vehicles in its lineup and launched its high-performance electric vehicle Ioniq 6 N at the auto show. The sports sedan can go from zero to 60 mph in less than 3.2 seconds.
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The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is on display during the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center on November 21, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)
Alongside its electric offerings, the manufacturer is focusing on the theme of engine choice.
“We want to meet the customer on their mobility journey,” said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai North America. “Whether it’s ICE [internal combustion engine]whether it’s hybrid, whether it’s EV. And the great thing for us is that we can meet customers on that journey, in any space, in whatever direction they want to go. »
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Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid also has a booth at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.
The all-electric Lucid Gravity at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California. (FOX Business Network)
Lucid interim CEO Marc Winterhoff says that while tax incentives for electric vehicles are welcome, the automaker doesn’t need them to be competitive.
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“There is a decline,” Winterhoff said of the company’s current sales figures. “People have moved forward…with their purchases and now I would say a little bit of a lull. But I definitely see this as a bump in the road, and it will normalize over the first quarter of next year.”
