GM vs Ford EV Sales: Who’s Winning the Detroit Showdown?

Your dad bought Fords his entire life. Maybe your grandfather retired from a GM assembly line with a gold watch and a pension. And now you’re standing in a showroom, staring at two electric crossovers, wondering which Detroit giant actually knows what the hell they’re doing anymore.

One week the headlines scream that Ford’s crushing it with the Lightning. The next week, GM’s suddenly America’s number two EV seller. Then Ford shuts down the Lightning plant indefinitely. Your cousin who works at a dealership tells you neither company is making money on these things. Your neighbor says his Mach-E is the best car he’s ever owned. The internet says both brands are bleeding billions quarterly.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: betting $40,000 on a company that changes strategy every earnings call feels like Russian roulette with your savings. But the data tells a clearer story than the chaos suggests. GM has quietly seized control of this race through sheer volume and affordable pricing. Ford built two incredible EVs, then basically hit pause to redesign everything from scratch. And both are hemorrhaging cash in ways that should genuinely concern you.

Let’s map the honest path forward using cold sales numbers and warm truths about what this means for your garage.

Keynote: GM vs Ford EV Sales

GM vs Ford EV sales reveal Detroit’s electric divide. GM doubled Ford’s 2025 volume through affordable pricing and broad portfolios. Ford built iconic EVs but paused production amid losses. Neither is profitable yet. GM leads today’s market. Ford bets on tomorrow’s affordability. Both need years to prove their strategies work sustainably.

The Scoreboard That Changed Everything: GM’s Quiet Takeover

The Numbers That Flipped the Script

GM sold 144,668 EVs through September 2025. Ford moved roughly 65,500 units in the same period. That’s not a close race. That’s a blowout. We’re talking about GM selling more than double Ford’s volume, and most people still think Ford’s winning because the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning get all the press coverage.

The gap is 79,168 vehicles. To put that in perspective, that’s more EVs than some entire brands sell in a year. In 2024, GM finished with 114,432 EVs against Ford’s 97,865, creating a 16,567-vehicle lead that felt significant at the time. But 2025 has turned that gap into a chasm.

The third quarter of 2025 told the real story: GM delivered 66,501 EVs while Ford managed 30,612. GM sold more than twice as many electric vehicles in three months. This wasn’t a fluke or a single-month anomaly. This was a systematic dismantling of Ford’s early advantage.

The Quarterly Explosion That Made Analysts Blink

The momentum shift happened fast and violently. GM’s Q2 2025 sales surged 111% year-over-year while Ford plummeted 31.4% in the same quarter. By the time Q3 rolled around, everyone rushing to grab the expiring $7,500 federal tax credit before September 30, GM was positioned to capture that demand surge. Ford caught a 30% bump too, but when you’re chasing a competitor who’s already pulled away, a 30% increase just means you’re falling behind slower.

Here’s the thing: both companies benefited from the same tailwind. Consumers knew the tax credit was disappearing, so they accelerated purchases. The entire EV market jumped 29.6% in Q3. But GM grew 110% in the same period. That’s not riding the wave. That’s owning the ocean.

Beyond the Sales Charts: Two Completely Different Bets on Your Future

GM’s “Flood the Market” Gamble

Picture building one giant, flexible kitchen that can cook 30 different meals. That’s GM’s Ultium battery platform. Instead of designing unique electric guts for each vehicle, GM engineered one battery system that slots into everything from a $34,995 Chevy crossover to a $110,000 Hummer supertruck. The beauty is scalability. The risk is that if something goes wrong with that one platform, it breaks everything.

GM now offers 8 to 10 EV models spanning every segment you can imagine. Affordable family crossovers? Check. Luxury three-row SUVs? Got it. Electric work trucks for fleets? Yep. Performance off-roaders that cost more than most people’s houses? Absolutely.

The crown jewel is the Chevrolet Equinox EV, which started at $34,995 and sold over 27,000 units in just the first half of 2025. By Q3, it was pushing nearly 25,000 units in a single quarter, making it the best-selling non-Tesla EV in America. That’s not a luxury vehicle for early adopters. That’s a mainstream family crossover at a price point where normal people can actually justify the monthly payment.

Ford’s “Iconic Names, Evolving Tech” Strategy

Ford took the opposite bet. Instead of flooding dealerships with 10 models, they built three. The Mustang Mach-E borrowed the most iconic nameplate in American automotive history and bet that badge could sell electric crossovers. The F-150 Lightning took America’s best-selling vehicle for 47 consecutive years and electrified it. The E-Transit gave commercial fleets a real work van without tailpipe emissions.

The logic was brilliant: leverage beloved names to build trust slowly. Don’t ask buyers to trust both a new powertrain and a new nameplate simultaneously. Let the Mustang badge do half the selling for you.

And it worked. The Mach-E posted its best quarter ever in Q3 2025 with 20,177 units, a 50.7% jump. The Lightning moved 10,005 trucks, staying America’s best-selling electric pickup. These aren’t niche vehicles. These are genuinely desirable EVs that people choose over gas alternatives.

But here’s the uncomfortable part: while Ford was perfecting two incredible vehicles, GM was building eight decent ones. And in a volume game, eight decent products beat two perfect ones.

Meanwhile, Ford’s hybrid sales jumped 27% in 2024, proving that a huge chunk of buyers want electrification but aren’t ready for pure battery power. Ford’s basically keeping the lights on with hybrid F-150s while figuring out how to make EVs profitable.

What These Strategies Actually Mean for Your Wallet

Brand	2024 Top Seller	Starting Price	Portfolio Breadth
GM	Equinox EV (28,874 units)	$34,995	8-10 models spanning affordable to luxury
Ford	Mach-E (51,745 units)	~$40,000	3 focused models betting on icons

GM gives you options. You want affordable? Equinox EV. You want luxury? Three different Cadillacs. You want a truck? Silverado or Sierra EV. You want to flex at Cars and Coffee? Hummer EV.

Ford gives you focus. You want a crossover? Mach-E. You want a truck? Lightning. You run a plumbing business? E-Transit. That’s it. No decision paralysis. No confusing trim levels across 47 different models.

For you, this means GM dealerships have inventory. Ford dealerships have waitlists for their popular configurations. GM has competitive pricing across segments. Ford charges a premium for proven nameplates and loyal followings.

The Billion-Dollar Bloodbath No One Wants to Talk About

The Losses That Should Keep You Up at Night

You know that feeling when your favorite restaurant is always packed but you hear through the grapevine they’re losing money on every table? That’s the Detroit EV situation right now.

Ford’s Model e division lost $8 billion in 2024 despite selling record numbers of EVs. Read that again. Eight. Billion. Dollars. In one year. GM posted over $7 billion in EV losses, plus an additional $1.6 billion charge for unused production capacity they optimistically built assuming demand would skyrocket faster than it has.

Translation: every time someone buys a Mach-E or an Equinox EV, these companies are eating thousands of dollars in losses. They’re subsidizing your purchase with money from profitable gas truck sales. Your F-150’s profit margin is funding someone else’s Lightning purchase. Your Tahoe is keeping Cadillac Lyriq production alive.

Here’s what nobody’s saying out loud: your warranty support, your software updates, your service network all depend on how long these companies can stomach bleeding billions quarterly. When Ford’s CEO casually admits he wouldn’t be surprised if EV sales halved after incentives disappeared, he’s telling you they’ve been propping up demand artificially.

The Promises Both Quietly Broke

Remember when GM boldly announced they’d have 1 million units of annual EV production capacity by 2025? CEO Mary Barra walked that back hard, now targeting 200,000 to 250,000 units annually. That’s recalibrating expectations from space shuttle to crop duster.

Ford slashed $12 billion in EV investment and delayed their massive Kentucky battery plant. They indefinitely paused F-150 Lightning production not because demand dried up, but because they needed the aluminum for profitable gas F-150s. Let that sink in. America’s best-selling electric truck just got shelved because making money matters more than building momentum.

Both companies are now reintroducing plug-in hybrids after swearing they’d go all-electric. GM’s bringing PHEVs back by 2027. Ford never really left hybrids, but they’re doubling down now. These aren’t pivots. These are admissions that the all-electric future they promised is coming slower than anyone predicted.

What “Adjusting to Market Realities” Costs You

The average EV costs $56,520. The average gas vehicle costs $48,401. That’s an $8,119 premium you’re paying to go electric, and that gap was only manageable because of the $7,500 federal tax credit that evaporated September 30, 2025.

Both GM and Ford’s finance arms bought up unsold inventory before the deadline to capture those credits themselves, and they’re passing savings to you through subsidized leases. But that’s a temporary band-aid on a bleeding wound. Without the credit, that price gap becomes a canyon most families can’t justify crossing.

Your resale value depends on companies that publicly admit they’re bleeding cash and recalibrating strategies quarterly. When Tesla drops prices overnight, your three-year-old Mach-E takes a depreciation hit you never saw coming. GM models historically hold roughly 10% more value after three years, but that’s comparing pre-tax-credit vehicles in a market that just fundamentally changed.

What Real Buyers Lie Awake Worrying About (And Why Automakers Keep Dodging It)

The Charging Nightmare That Still Isn’t Solved

Picture this: you’re 200 miles from home, 15% battery left, and you pull into a charging station. The cable’s too short to reach your port. The app won’t connect. The charger that’s supposed to work with your adapter is broken. The working charger has a 45-minute wait. You’re Googling “gas stations near me” on your phone with mounting panic.

A staggering 77% of consumers cite charging infrastructure as their top concern, and they’re not wrong to be nervous. Ford and GM vehicles can now access 12,000 of Tesla’s 17,000+ Superchargers through adapters, which sounds great until you realize those adapters are glitchy, cables are too short for some port locations, and apps crash when you need them most.

The reality nobody wants to admit: the charging experience outside your home garage still ranges from “mildly annoying” to “trip-ruining disaster,” and neither Ford nor GM controls the infrastructure that makes or breaks your ownership experience.

The Dealer Secret That Could Wreck Your Service Experience

Here’s the uncomfortable math: EVs cost dealers $1,300 less in service revenue over their lifetime compared to gas vehicles. No oil changes. No transmission flushes. No spark plugs. Fewer brake jobs thanks to regenerative braking.

Your local dealer invested $500,000 in EV training and equipment because the manufacturer demanded it. Now they’re sitting on electric inventory that generates fewer service visits and lower profit margins. When you walk in, they’d genuinely rather sell you that gas Silverado with a 7-year service package than an electric one you’ll barely bring in for tire rotations.

This creates a perverse incentive: the people who should be your EV evangelists are financially motivated to steer you elsewhere. And when something does go wrong with your EV, are they really prioritizing your repair when it’s less profitable than the three gas trucks in the next bay?

The Resale Value Question You’re Thinking But Not Asking

When both automakers lose billions quarterly and publicly admit they’re recalibrating strategies, what’s your 2025 EV worth in 2028? Tesla’s constant price cuts mean your $55,000 Model Y just became a $45,000 used vehicle overnight. New buyers won’t pay near-new prices when they can get a brand-new one for less.

Ford and GM are bleeding cash on EVs while printing money on gas trucks. How long before they pull a Chrysler and “recalibrate” their way into slashing EV lineups entirely? Your resale value depends on continued production, parts availability, and software support from companies that can’t currently afford their own success.

GM models hold roughly 10% more value after three years than comparable Fords, but that’s pre-tax-credit data. The post-incentive market is uncharted territory, and nobody knows how depreciation curves will adjust when that $7,500 cushion disappears.

Model by Model: Where Each Brand Actually Wins (And Loses Hard)

GM’s Volume Leaders and Their Jobs

Model	2024 Sales	Role in Lineup
Equinox EV	28,874	The affordable family crossover everyone wanted finally
Cadillac Lyriq	28,402	Luxury buyers leaving Tesla for American comfort
Blazer EV	23,115	Mid-size SUV sweet spot for suburban families

The Equinox EV changed everything. At $34,995 with 319 miles of range, it’s the first EV that doesn’t feel like a luxury sacrifice. It’s sized right for families, priced right for middle-class budgets, and equipped right for road trips. Nearly 60% of Chevrolet EV buyers are new to GM, meaning this vehicle is conquesting customers from Toyota, Honda, and Ford.

The Cadillac lineup proves GM can compete upmarket. Cadillac became the best-selling luxury EV brand in America year-to-date, outselling traditional German rivals. The Lyriq brought style and comfort. The Optiq and Vistiq filled gaps for smaller crossovers and three-row SUVs. Suddenly, Cadillac isn’t your grandfather’s brand. It’s a legitimate Tesla alternative for buyers who want button-filled interiors and dealer support.

The Blazer EV slots between Equinox and Lyriq, capturing buyers who want more space and style than the affordable Equinox but can’t justify Cadillac pricing. It’s the middle child nobody talks about but quietly sells 23,000+ units annually.

Ford’s Power Trio and Their Struggles

The Mustang Mach-E posted 20,177 sales in Q3 2025, its best quarter ever. A 50.7% jump year-over-year. It’s genuinely desirable, genuinely fun, and genuinely outselling its gas-powered Mustang coupe counterpart. In Q3, the electric Mach-E moved 20,177 units while the iconic pony car managed just 9,267. Let that irony sink in.

The F-150 Lightning remains America’s best-selling electric pickup with 10,005 Q3 sales, up nearly 40% year-over-year. It tows like a truck, works like a truck, and powers your house during blackouts. Fleet managers and contractors are choosing it over gas F-150s for total cost of ownership math that actually works.

Then there’s the E-Transit commercial van, which had a catastrophic Q2 2025. Sales nosedived 88%, from 3,410 units to just 418. The culprit? Large fleet orders got filled earlier, creating a sudden drop that looks worse on paper than it is operationally. But volatility like that makes investors nervous and raises questions about sustainable demand beyond initial fleet commitments.

The One Model That’s Changing Everything

The Chevrolet Equinox EV isn’t just selling well. It’s rewriting the rules. Over 27,000 units sold in the first half of 2025 alone. By Q3, it was pushing 25,000 units in a single quarter, making it the third best-selling EV in America behind only Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3.

The $34,995 starting price makes EVs finally attainable for families who were priced out by $55,000 crossovers. The 319-mile range eliminates range anxiety for suburban commuters and weekend warriors. The Chevrolet badge means affordable service and ubiquitous dealers.

But here’s the catch: can GM actually make money at this price point? The company claims it’s “variable profit positive,” meaning it’s covering the direct costs of materials and labor. But when you factor in the billions in platform development, battery plant investments, and dealer training, the Equinox EV is almost certainly losing money on a full-cost basis. GM is betting that volume will eventually drive profitability. Ford watched this bet and decided to fold their hand entirely, pausing production to redesign everything cheaper.

The Decision Framework: How to Actually Choose in This Chaos

If You Need an EV Right Now

Budget under $40,000? The Chevrolet Equinox EV is the only legitimate game in town. Nothing else combines that price, that range, and that practicality. The Nissan Leaf is too small and too short-range. Tesla’s Model 3 starts higher and doesn’t qualify for many state incentives. The Equinox is the EV for people who need an EV but can’t afford to make it a statement piece.

Need a truck? The F-150 Lightning remains the electric pickup king. GM’s Silverado EV and Sierra EV are gaining ground, but they’re newer, less proven, and have smaller owner communities. The Lightning has three years of real-world use proving it can handle actual truck work. Plus, Ford’s dealer network has more experience servicing electric trucks simply because they’ve been doing it longer.

Want luxury? Cadillac became the luxury EV market share leader in Q2 2025, and it’s not hard to see why. The Lyriq, Optiq, and Vistiq offer three-vehicle choices where Lincoln offers zero. If you’re leaving a German luxury brand or Tesla’s minimalist cabins for something more traditionally American, Cadillac is the only Detroit option.

If You Can Wait Six Months

Ford’s pivoting to an affordable platform targeting sub-$30,000 models by 2027. That’s a mid-size electric pickup potentially cheaper than many gas trucks. If you can wait two years, that might be the game-changer that makes EVs truly mass-market.

State incentives still exist even after the federal tax credit disappeared. California offers up to $7,500. Colorado gives $5,000. New York provides $2,000. Connecticut kicks in $3,000. Stack these with utility rebates and you’re potentially recapturing most of that lost federal credit if you live in the right state.

Waiting also means dealer discounts. Inventory is building. Sales are slowing. Dealers are motivated. You might save $5,000 or more just by being patient and negotiating hard in a softer market.

The Honest Third Option No One’s Mentioning

Maybe a hybrid is the smartest play while both automakers figure this out. Ford’s F-150 PowerBoost hybrid gets 700 miles of range on a single tank. The Maverick Hybrid delivers 40 mpg for under $30,000. You get electric efficiency around town and gas freedom for road trips, all without charging anxiety or betting $50,000 on automakers hemorrhaging billions.

Ford’s hybrid sales surged 27% in 2024, proving that consumers are voting with their wallets for “good enough” electrification over “all-in” pure battery. You cut emissions. You save gas money. You don’t need to install a Level 2 charger or plan routes around charging stations.

The math on “good enough” versus “all-in” is simple: a hybrid F-150 saves you $10,000 upfront, eliminates charging infrastructure concerns, and still cuts your fuel costs by 30%. A Lightning saves more long-term but costs more upfront and introduces charging logistics you’ll deal with for 10 years. Which hassle do you prefer?

Conclusion: Your New Reality with American EVs

GM seized the Detroit EV crown through strategic pricing and portfolio breadth, not superior technology or revolutionary design. They built one flexible platform, flooded every segment, and priced the Equinox EV at a point where families could finally justify going electric. Ford bet early with iconic nameplates, built two genuinely excellent EVs, then realized they couldn’t afford their own success.

Both companies are hemorrhaging billions quarterly. Neither has solved charging infrastructure beyond adapters that kinda-sorta work with Tesla’s network. Dealers would rather sell you gas vehicles. Your generational loyalty to Ford or GM matters less than it ever has, and honestly, that’s liberating.

Your single actionable step for today: visit both dealerships this weekend. Ignore every sales pitch. Physically inspect where the charging port is located on the Equinox EV, Mach-E, and Lightning. Bring a tape measure. Check if your garage outlet locations make sense. See which cable management design feels less annoying for daily plugging. You’ll learn more in five minutes than from any quarterly earnings call or press release.

This chaos isn’t failure. It’s American automakers finally treating EVs seriously enough to bleed billions on them. The mess means real competition, and competition means better vehicles and lower prices are coming. Your job isn’t picking the winner of the 2030 electric future. It’s buying what works for your life right now, today, knowing the game will change three times before you pay off the loan.

Ford vs GM EV Sales (FAQs)