September looked like a last call rush for electric vehicles, and October showed the hangover. With the federal $7,500 EV tax credit ending at the close of September, shoppers who were on the fence jumped early, then stepped back. Only a handful of brands share monthly numbers, yet the snapshot we do have paints a rough picture for the market’s immediate post incentive reality.

Hyundai and Kia took the biggest punches. Hyundai Ioniq 5 fell 63 percent year over year to 1,642 units in October 2025, after moving 4,498 in October 2024. Kia EV6 slid 71 percent to 508 units, and Genesis GV60 landed at just 93 deliveries, a 54 percent drop. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 sedan was down 52 percent to 398 units, while Hyundai’s new three row Ioniq 9 posted 317 units after topping four figures in each of the three prior months. Kia EV9 tallied 666 units, a 66 percent decline, and Genesis Electrified GV70 found only 15 buyers compared with 154 a year earlier.

Honda’s numbers were even tougher. Acura ZDX has already bowed out after a single model year, and the related Honda Prologue slipped 81 percent to 806 units, down from 4,130 in October 2024. Honda has not detailed the 2026 Prologue yet, which raises fair questions about where the model goes from here.

Ford did not crater like the Korean brands, but it still lost ground. Mustang Mach E eased 12 percent to 2,906 units, F-150 Lightning dipped 17 percent to 1,543 units, and E Transit moved 260 units, a 76 percent fall. Even for a company with broad EV name recognition, the absence of a headline incentive cooled traffic.

Part of this is simple timing. Buyers who wanted to capture the credit pulled demand into September, which leaves a softer month to follow. That dynamic is common around expiring incentives and it can take a quarter or two for the market to find a new baseline. Price positioning, inventory, and financing also matter more without a built in $7,500 assist, so value comparisons against hybrids and efficient gas models become sharper.

Perspective is important here. Several major players only report quarterly, including General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, and Volkswagen, and Tesla and Rivian do not break out model level monthly results. With that in mind, October is not the whole story. It is an early signal that the market is recalibrating to life without a federal sweetener on the hood, and four of the top ten EVs through Q3 showing declines adds weight to that signal.

What to watch next is straightforward. Closing quarter incentives from automakers, dealer level pricing, and improvements to charging access will do more heavy lifting now that the tax credit cushion is gone. End of year totals will tell us whether October was a blip caused by a September pull forward, or the start of a tougher stretch where EVs must win more customers on product strength and total ownership value alone.