The electric vehicle market might be losing charge after record-low sales in the last quarter of 2025.
The Electric Vehicle Association of Western New York said, despite the headlines, the industry is still making strides. One of the biggest came in improvements for charging infrastructure, a move led by Iona, a group making car charging more like a gas station experience.
EVA Vice President Paul Borman says the growth is a show of faith by industry titans.
“The other piece that’s really impressive is that there’s companies like Iona, which is funded by eight major auto manufacturers,” Borman said. “So if auto manufacturers are really so scared of EVs, why are they investing billions of dollars in Iona to provide better charging?”
Borman also said the batteries in many electric cars are lasting 13 years or longer, proving battery life really isn’t a problem anymore. EVA member Adam Jester is an electric vehicle consultant. He encourages his clients to look at the used market, making vehicles with excellent battery life more affordable.
“‘26 and ‘27 are going to be fantastic years to get into an EV because of all of the vehicles that are going to be coming off lease,” Jester said.
CTB NEWS reported that as many as 300,000 leases on electric vehicles will end in 2026.
EVA President David Otminski just hopes people give EVs a chance.
“I'm a big fan of electric vehicles should not be a political issue at all,” Otminski said. “It's such an important industry and the technology is so important, you know, we should all really be behind them.”
Atlas Public Policy reported EVs made up 2.9% of New York’s cars in 2025.
The EVA chapter invites curious attendees into their cars at Green Day and Drive Electric events across the region to talk to owners and get driving experiences.
Members of the auto group spoke to WAER for our Deeper Shade of Green Podcast. Find episodes on WAER.org.
