Latest news with #StephanieValdezStreaty
Axios
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
U.S. EV sales could spike, then collapse, as subsidies vanish
Second-quarter EV sales fell 6.3% compared to April-June of 2024, and the road ahead looks jarring with the loss of consumer purchase subsidies looming, per new Cox Automotive data. Why it matters: While sales set a record in 2024, and the first half of 2025 narrowly did, too, the upward march was getting less consistent even before the GOP's new budget law nixed incentives. Catch up quick: Tax incentives up to $7,500 for buying new EVs will end on Sept. 30 under the giant GOP budget bill that President Trump signed earlier this month. It quickly ends smaller subsidies for used EVs and credits for commercial EVs. Leasing incentives are also ending. What's next: Cox analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty, in a statement alongside the data, predicts a "rush ahead of the federal incentive phase-out, offering a short-term boost in an otherwise uncertain landscape." "Q3 will likely be a record, followed by a collapse in Q4, as the electric vehicle market adjusts to its new reality," she said. State of play: The picture varies by automaker. GM sold over 78,000 EVs in the first half of 2025, more than twice the same stretch last year. Meanwhile, "Tesla's sales fell by more than 12% year over year in Q2, following a decline of nearly 9% in Q1," Cox notes. What we're watching: The loss of credits isn't the only budget law provision that could affect EV sales. A new post on the law's impact from Columbia University's energy think tank flags new auto loan interest deductions — with income limits — for U.S.-assembled vehicles. "The deduction allowance largely benefits the early purchasing of lower-cost domestic gas cars, again increasing the incentive for consumers to switch away from EVs," it states.
CNBC
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- CNBC
You have less than 3 months to claim the $7,500 EV tax credit: 'Now is the time to buy,' says car expert
If you're planning to buy an electric vehicle, time is running out to claim a federal tax credit worth up to $7,500. The Clean Vehicle Credit, overhauled and extended through 2032 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, will now end after Sept. 30 under President Donald Trump's "big beautiful" tax-and-spending package, meaning potential buyers have just a few months to act before the credit is discontinued. The credit can shave thousands off the price of both new and used electric vehicles. For buyers already in the market, now is the time to buy," says Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive. With the deadline approaching, dealers might try to create a sense of urgency by offering stronger incentives to close sales, she says. Manufacturer incentives already averaged 14.2% of the average transaction price for new EVs in May — the highest level since 2018, according to Cox's sales data — driven in part by excess inventory. The Clean Vehicle Credit can take up to $7,500 off the cost of a new electric vehicle — or $4,000 off a used one — but qualifying isn't as straightforward as it once was. While the income limits and vehicle price caps have remained the same since 2023, the number of qualifying models has shrunk as battery and sourcing requirements have ramped up — a phased tightening that was built into the law. The rules are complicated and worth reading about further, but broadly speaking, you qualify for the credit based on the following criteria: Because of the sourcing rules, eligibility often comes down to specific details about the car, such as the trim level and optional add-ons, which can push the price over the limit. "[Make sure] that specific trim level you want is eligible and is still under that threshold of $80,000," says Valdez Streaty, who recommends researching qualifying vehicles before buying. Fortunately, a change in 2024 made it a little easier to confirm eligibility. The credit became available at the point of sale, applied directly as a discount off the purchase price, rather than requiring you to claim it later by submitting a form with your tax return. Registered dealers are required to check the vehicle's eligibility through the Internal Revenue Service's system before completing the sale. However, it's still up to the buyer to make sure they meet the income requirements — if you claim the credit and don't qualify, you'll have to pay it back at tax time. Another option is leasing, which is often cheaper than buying, though you won't own the car at the end of the term and most leases come with annual mileage limits. But with EVs, leasing can offer even more value. EVs leased through dealers are treated as commercial vehicles, which means the dealer qualifies for the full $7,500 credit without the usual restrictions on battery sourcing or buyer income. Because of that, dealers can pass along the savings in the form of lower monthly payments or upfront discounts. "That's why it's so popular," Valdez Streaty says, noting that EV lease rates jumped from around 15% in 2022 to 67% by March 2025, according to Cox data. "You can buy any vehicle, no matter how much you make, that potentially gets that full $7,500 off."
Motor Trend
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
Should You Buy a Used EV?
While the prices of new EVs are continuing to climb on average, so are the costs of new cars in general. As of March, the average new car transaction price in the United States was almost $48,000, according to KBB sales data. Things are only predicted to go up from there thanks to the current state of the global tariff situation and other economic uncertainty. Buying a used EV can be beneficial due to high depreciation, reduced maintenance, and affordability. Key concerns include battery health, which can be assessed with tools like Recurrent Reports. Checklists for evaluating battery, connectivity, and accessories are recommended. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next That's pushing more and more people to shop for used cars, and an increasing number of those buyers are looking to go emissions-free. Used EV sales are climbing even faster than new EV sales. "In May 2025, used EV sales jumped 32.1 percent year-over-year, far outpacing the new EV market," Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive's director of industry insights, says. So used EVs are popular, but is buying one really a good idea? Are there more inherent risks in buying a car built around a big battery? Like any used car purchase, buying a pre-owned EV has its benefits and risks. Let's start with the positive. Beating Depreciation One complaint we hear often from buyers of new EVs is about how quickly they can depreciate. The EV market is moving so quickly, with bigger batteries and better technologies every year, that cars are losing their value. "EVs tend to depreciate faster than gas-powered vehicles in their early years, but that actually benefits used EV buyers," Valdez Streaty says. "You're often getting a relatively new vehicle—frequently coming off lease—with modern technology and low mileage at a significantly reduced price." That's not great news if you're buying new, and it's one of the reasons most EV buyers choose a lease over an outright purchase. But if you're buying used, high depreciation should be music to your ears. Newer Vehicles That steep depreciation curve has another benefit: You can get into a newer used car than you might be able to otherwise. "Used EVs are now priced, on average, less than $2,000 below comparable ICE vehicles," Valdez Streaty says. "And in May 2025, 43 percent of used EVs were priced under $25,000, making them an especially attractive option for budget-conscious shoppers." That means newer used EVs are more affordable than an equivalent vehicle with an internal combustion engine. They're easier to find than newer used ICE cars, too, according to Liz Najman, director of market insights at Recurrent Motors. "The great thing about used EVs is that you can get a much newer model EV than a gas car, for less," she says. "The used EV market skews toward newer model years. In fact, 45 percent of used EV listings are cars from 2023 to 2025." Reduced Maintenance When we list the benefits of buying an EV versus an ICE-powered car, one of the biggest is the reduction of running costs and overall maintenance. "[EVs] typically have lower operating and maintenance costs,' Valdez Streaty says. "EVs don't require oil changes, have fewer moving parts, and benefit from regenerative braking, which reduces wear on brake systems." That's definitely a nice thing to enjoy after you buy an EV, but it actually has a big benefit when you're thinking about buying someone else's EV, too. Simply put: If a given car has few needs from a service and maintenance standpoint, it stands to reason that there are fewer things that the previous owner could have forgotten to do. In other words, getting a comprehensive service history is easier because there's so much less service required. But that doesn't mean there aren't things to worry about when buying a used EV. Let's focus on the big one. Battery Fears Far and away, the biggest concern that most people cite when they say why they don't want to buy an EV, used or otherwise, is the health of the battery and the cost of a potential replacement. There are plenty of reasons why battery replacement isn't as big of a worry as some people make it out to be—not the least of which is the mandatory eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on EVs sold in the United States. Verify with your dealer, but in the vast majority of situations, the remainder of that warranty will transfer to the new owner. Regardless, nobody wants to worry about dealing with a major replacement like that, even if it won't cost anything, so it's important to check the health of the battery when you're considering bringing home a used EV. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to do that. Recurrent Auto provides a battery health service called Recurrent Reports and Range Score. Think of it as a CarFax for batteries, and you're not far off. It's available directly through many dealers, including CarMax. "Battery health is one of the most critical factors in evaluating a used EV,' a CarMax representative told us. 'That's why CarMax provides an independent, third-party battery health assessment tool through Recurrent. EVs in CarMax's inventory include a battery range score, which gives an estimate of how far the vehicle may drive on a full charge today versus when it was new." Another option is provided by Cox Automotive's Manheim, a VIN-specific battery report. These are automatically included on Autotrader listings, making checking battery health there easy. If that's not enough, some dealers use hardware battery scanners like Voltest, which can provide a comprehensive report of a given car's battery; it's similar to how you might get an OBDII scan of error codes on a regular used car. Failing those options, there are ways to check the battery yourself during a regular test drive. Najman recommends starting every test drive by taking a photo of the gauge cluster with your phone. Then take another when you're through, and compare the rated range and odometer before and after your drive to get a feel for how the car's battery is performing. "Just make sure you are comfortable with the number you get," she says. She also recommends requesting that your dealer not charge the battery above 80 percent for your drive so that you can swing by a DC fast charger and verify the car can successfully charge at both Level 3 and Level 2 rates. That's just one thing you should check on your test drive. Below is a handy checklist you can use when you're at the dealership. Your Used EV Shopping Checklist 1 - High-voltage battery As mentioned above, this is probably the single most expensive component in the car, so its health is vital. If you can, use a battery health service. Or at the very least, take the car for a drive and make sure its estimated range matches what you'd expect. But keep in mind that estimated range figures can vary based on a number of factors, such as current temperature and how aggressively you're driving the car. If you're someone who really tries to sample maximum performance during your test drive, cut the car a little slack if its efficiency isn't quite up to the EPA's ratings. 2 - 12-volt battery Yes, believe it or not, most EVs on the market also have an old-school 12-volt battery (to power ancillary functions) of the sort that have probably failed you at some inconvenient time on a frigid evening when you just want to get home. The best way to test these is to access the battery itself with a multimeter and make sure it's putting out adequate voltage, but Najman says there's a way to get a sense for whether that battery is working otherwise. "Test all the HVAC and accessories to make sure they work,' she says. 'Check for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto if advertised. Do this before turning the car on. If doing this makes the 12V seem funny, ask if they will give you a new one before you take the car." 3 - Corrosion Many modern EVs make use of corrosion-proof materials such as aluminum or even carbon fiber in their construction to save weight. Still, there's usually a significant amount of steel in there, as well, so checking for rust is still a crucial thing to do, particularly for cars that live in colder areas. 4 - Connectivity A modern EV is often only as good as its connectivity. If your EV can't get online, it won't be able to pull down over-the-air updates, and you won't be able to use the car's app to precondition the cabin or monitor charging remotely. Assuming the car has an app (like FordPass or the My BMW app), make sure the dealer has the right credentials and can sign you in so that you can verify everything works. Send a few requests, like locking or unlocking the doors, just to make sure everything here is copacetic. 5 - Tires Most EVs do a better job of protecting the environment than most internal combustion machines, but if there's one thing they put a hurting on, it's tires. EVs are notorious for their high wear, thanks, it turns out, to the high torque their motors can generate. So make sure to check the tread on all four tires to see how much is remaining and make sure the overall wear is nice and even. Tire rotation is one of those service items that even EVs need, and if it's not done regularly, they'll chew through rubber even more quickly. 6- Accessories Finally, take a run through all the accessories the car came with to ensure everything is there. This includes basic items like key fobs, which are painfully expensive to replace these days, and other EV-specific items like a 120-volt charger and vehicle-to-load adapter. Not all cars came with these when new, but if they did, you should get them. Check all those boxes, and you'll hopefully take yourself home a like-new machine that will give you years of motoring that's not only emissions-free but stress-free, as well.
Bloomberg
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Tesla Facing Brand, Product, and Political Headwinds
Tesla needs to rebrand itself and bring out new products, says Stephanie Valdez Streaty, research and development director at Cox Automotive. She joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech". (Source: Bloomberg)
Forbes
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
EV Sales On Verge Of Acceleration, Studies Predict
While sales of battery electric vehicles remain fairly sluggish, that is likely to change as ... More automakers introduce a greater portfolio of products at more affordable price points, studies predict. The sluggish sales rate for battery electric vehicles has turned EVs into the industry problem child. But new forecasts predict that while EV sales may still under-achieve automaker aspirations for some time, purely electric vehicles will find more buyers as a result of changing market dynamics, competition and product offerings. It's a prediction tough to divine when plowing through the latest sales trends. 'At the start of the year, we forecasted EVs would reach a 10% share of new vehicle sales by year end. But based on current trends, we now expect that number to land closer to 9%,' said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive during a webcast this week. She went on to say that while final numbers for Q2 aren't yet in, Cox is predicting EV sales for the three-month period will be down 6% from last year. Cox Automotive/Kelly Blue Book graph showing sales trends for electric vehicles. The prediction is almost as sobering from J.D. Power, which compared slumbering EV sales with those of hybrids. 'Hybrids are making waves again, setting a monthly record for June with a retail share of 14.1%, up 3.8 percentage points from a year ago. In contrast, EV share has dipped 1.9 percentage points, a notable shift from June 2024 when both technologies were even at 10.3%,' wrote Tyson Jominy, senior vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, in a report released Wednesday. Jominy chalked up the surge in hybrid sales on familiarity with technology that's been around for decades and dealers promoting high fuel economy leading to savings that could offset any price premium over internal combustion engine vehicles in less than two years. It all sounds pretty bad until you raise the gaze to a wider view. For one, many consumers rejecting EVs have done so because they were too expensive. That's changing. In May, the average transaction price, or ATP, for EVs fell to $57,734, down 2.3% from April and 1.1% from May, 2024, while average incentives rose to 14.2% of ATP in April, according to Cox. 'This downward trend highlights growing competition and pricing pressure across the EV segment,' noted Streaty. 'At the same time, EV incentives surged to 14.2% of ATP, the highest share in the modern EV era.' Cox Automotive/kelly Blue Book graph showing average transaction prices and incentives for battery ... More electric and electrified internal combustion engine vehicles. A key driver of lower EV transaction prices is discounting by EV market leader Tesla, which has seen its sales decline 15.2% in the first half of this year according to Cox data. Its ATP fell to $55,277, but that's still too rich for many consumers considering an EV. Hope for consumers, however, is not an empty emotion, as the industry's EV hierarchy is on the cusp of a major shuffling. 'While Tesla pulls back, GM is stepping up,' said Streaty. 'All three of their EV brands, Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, are showing strong momentum across the board. We're also seeing new players gain share, including Honda, Jeep and dodge. So while the overall market is softening, the story underneath the surface is one of redistribution.' That redistribution comes from a massive influx of new models, body styles and price points either in production or planned by automakers other than Tesla. Cox Automotive/Kelly Blue Book graphic showing growing EV body style and pricing choices. In 2020 EV shoppers had just 17 models from which to choose, split evenly between luxury and non-luxury. Today, that number has grown to 75 and luxury offerings have surged from seven to 39 models, while non-luxury options have expanded from 10 to 36, Cox data shows. 'EVs now are available across nearly every major vehicle segment. SUVs have seen the most dramatic expansion, and for the first time, trucks and vans are meaningfully represented in the EV space.' Things are looking up for greater EV choices on the used vehicle lots as well. Cox data shows about one million EVs have been leased since 2022. When those leases come due a surge of nearly new EVs will suddenly hit used vehicle lots according to Jeremy Robb, senior director of economic and industry insights at Cox. 'The mix of units coming back to the market will change dramatically when we get to 2027. EV lease maturities will comprise 16% of all volume, with plug-in hybrids being another 5% and the hybrid market being about 6% that means the traditional ICE market will only be about 72% of the total, and then we will have far greater diversification of units out there for used EV buyers,' Robb explained during this week's webcast. Not only are used EVs less expensive than new models, but their average price is about $2,000 less than used internal combustion engine vehicles, added Streaty. The bottom line, she notes, is consumers who had been holding off making the plunge into battery-powered mobility, may soon find some of their key reasons for doing so are evaporating, declaring, 'More consumers than ever can now find an EV that fits their lifestyle budget and brand preference.'
