SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – The federal tax credit for those buying an electric car is hitting the end of the road.
So, ABC 10News spoke with a car-buying researcher for some advice on how not to burn a hole in your wallet with the tax credit coming to an end for cars that don’t burn gas.
“It has been great for both dealers and customers,” Joseph Yoon, Consumer Insights Analyst for car-buying website Edmunds, said. “People purchasing electric vehicles could get up to $7,500 off whether that was through a tax rebate or, if you’re leasing, it would come in the form of a discount that dealers passed on to you.”
Yoon told ABC 10News that this tax credit is ending at the end of September.
“My advice to people shopping for an EV now would be to really scour online shopping sites,” Yoon said.
The latest numbers, according to Cox Automotive, which does the Kelley Blue Book, show 607,082 EVs were sold YTD in 2025 compared to 597,834 EVs sold YTD in 2024.
Yoon said most of these sites have trackers that’ll show you how long a car has been at a dealer.
“If you see an EV that you like that’s been at your local dealership 90 days or 100 days, they’re going to be willing to wheel and deal with you,” Yoon said. “So, go in there firm, ready to fight and negotiate. And I think you’ll be surprised by the deals you’ll be able to get.”
But he says you might need a different game plan if you’re shopping for a used EV, which you could get up to $4,000 off with the tax credit.
“Used cars typically have a much lower margin for dealers. So, you really can’t go in there and fight for a discount as you would a new car, especially a new EV. So, I think, as far as used shopping goes, I would stick within your budget,” Yoon said.
Yoon tells me they were expecting a bump in online traffic of EV shopping with the credit coming to an end. However, it’s been a different consumer trend.
“That mad dash that we thought we were going to see isn’t really happening anywhere. Which is, to me as a car person, totally a surprise. A huge discount going away is always an excuse for me to go shopping somewhere,” Yoon said.
