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Lease deals get all the hype, but most people still want to own the car after they’re done making all those payments on it. If that sounds like you, and you’ve been waiting for the interest rates on auto loans to drop, you’re in luck: there are a bunch of great plug-in cars you can buy with 0% financing in May, 2025!

UPDATE: Tesla is hoping to boost demand with 0% financing!

As I was putting this list together, I realized there were plenty of ways for me to present this information. “Best EVs ..?” Too opinion based. “Cheapest EVs ..?” Too much research. “Best deal ..?” Too opinion based. In the end, I went with alphabetical order, by make. And, as for which deals are new this month? You’re just gonna have to check the list. Enjoy!

Acura ZDX


2024 Acura ZDX.

New for 2024, Acura ZDX uses a GM Ultium battery and drive motors, but the styling, interior, and infotainment software are all Honda. That means you’ll get a solidly-built EV with GM levels of parts support and Honda levels of fit, finish, and quality control. All that plus Apple CarPlay and (through June 2nd) 0% financing for up to 72 months makes the ZDX one the best sporty crossover values in the business.

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All the electric Chevrolet models


EV batteries Stanford
Silverado EV, Equinox EV, and Blazer EV at a Tesla Supercharger; via GM.

Chevrolet is offering 0% financing for up to 60 months on all three of its remaining 2024 model year Ultium-based EVs – and they’re all winners. The Silverado can be spec’ed up to a 10,500 lb. GVWR, making it capable enough to tow whatever horse, boat, or RV you put behind it.

On the crossover side, both the Chevy Blazer EV and Equinox EV each offer their own takes on the five-passenger family SUV, with the cost of base model Equinox LT FWD models with 319 miles of EPA-rated range dropping to just $27,500 after you apply the $7,500 Federal tax credit (which, for now, is still a thing).

Dodge Charger


2024 Dodge Charger Daytona; via Stellantis.

As Stellantis flip-flops its way towards some kind of electrified future, Dodge is hoping that at least a few muscle car enthusiasts with extra cash will find their way to a Dodge store and ask for the meanest, loudest, tire-shreddingest thing on the lot without caring too much about what’s under the hood.

For them, Dodge has the new electric Charger. And if you still owed money on the Hemi you just totaled, Dodge will help get the deal done on its latest retro-tastic ride with a $3,000 rebate plus 0% financing for up to 72 months!

GMC Hummer EV


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2024 GMC Hummer EV; via GM.

The biggest Ultium-based EVs from GM’s commercial truck brand are seriously impressive machines, with shockingly quick acceleration and on-road handling that seems to defy the laws of physics once you understand that these are, essentially, medium-duty trucks. This month, GMC is doing its best to move out its existing inventory of 2024s and ’25s so if you’re a fan of heavy metal you’ll definitely want to stop by your local GMC dealer and give the Hummer EV a test drive.

Honda Prologue


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2024 Honda Prologue; via Honda.

The Honda Prologue was one of the top-selling electric crossovers last year, combining GM’s excellent Ultium platform with Honda sensibilities and Apple CarPlay to create a winning combination. Even so, there’s still some remaining 2024 inventory out there. To make room for the 2025 models, Honda is offering 0% APR for up to 72 months on the remaining 2024s.

Hyundai IONIQ 6


Hyundai-IONIQ-6
Hyundai IONIQ 6; via Hyundai.

From some angles, the Porsche influences in the Hyundai IONIQ 6′ design are obvious – but not so much so that it seems like a copy of anything. It’s aerodynamically efficient, comfortable, quick, offers up to 361 miles of range, can charge just about anywhere, and now through June 2nd, it’s available with 0% financing for up to 48 months.

Kia EV9


2025 Kia EV9
2025 Kia EV9; via Kia.

If you were waiting for a three-row SUV from a mainstream brand with a great warranty and normal doors, you’ve probably already checked out the Kia EV9. You’re not alone. Kia keeps setting EV sales records, and the EV9 is helping to drive those sales forward.

Kia’s electrified sales train doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, either. In addition to seeing some substantial discounts out there, you can finance a Kia EV9 at 0% for 72 months through Memorial Day.

Lexus RZ


2025 Lexus RZ; via Lexus.

Starting at $55,175, the Lexus RZ promises up to 266 miles of EPA-rated range from a 72.8 kWh battery back in the “base” RZ300e (and 224 from the top-shelf RZ450e). With up to 308 hp and over 195 lb-ft of instant, all-electric torque, the RZ promises to be one Lexus’ zippier rides in any trim.

US News is reporting that remaining 2024 and ’25 Lexus RZ models qualify for 0% financing for up to 72 months in some regions.

Nissan Ariya


Nissan-new-EV-partners
2024 Nissan Ariya.

I’ve already said that the Nissan Ariya didn’t get a fair shake. If you click that link, you’ll read about a car that offers solid driving dynamics, innovative interior design, and all the practicality that makes five-passenger crossovers the must-haves they’ve become for most families. With up to 289 miles of EPA-rated range, Tesla Supercharger access, and 0% interest from Nissan for up to 72 months, Nissan dealers should have no trouble finding homes for these.

Subaru Solterra


2025 Subaru Solterra; via Subaru.

Despite being something of a slow seller, this mechanical twin of the Toyota bZ4X EV seems like a solid mid-size electric crossover with some outdoorsy vibes and granola style that offers more than enough utility to carry your mountain bikes to the trail or your kayaks to the river. Add in 227 miles of range, some big discounts, and 0% financing for up to 72 months, and this should be a great month for electric Subaru fans to drive home in a new Solterra.

Tesla Model 3


EV adoption
Tesla Model 3; via Tesla.

Say what you will about Elon Musk – and I say plenty over on the Quick Charge podcast – the fact remains that we wouldn’t be here talking about EVs at all if it wasn’t for his marketing brilliance, bravado, and sheer force of will. Beyond that, Tesla simply offers as superior ownership experience through total software integration, unfettered access to the Supercharger network, and the best EV route-planning software this side of Chargeway.

If you can stomach being associated with Elon (or have an inside line on some spare Honda badges), you can get a new Model 3 for 0% interest or 0.99% with $0 down if you apply the $7,500 Federal tax incentive at the point of purchase.

Volkswagen ID.4


Volkswagen-ID-top-selling
VW ID.4; via Volkswagen.

One of the most popular legacy EVs both in the US and Europe, the ID.4 offers Volkswagen build quality and (for 2024) a Chat-GPT enabled interface. To keep ID.4 sales rolling, VW dealers are getting aggressive with discounts, making this fast-charging, 291 mile EPA-rated range, 5-star safety rated EV a value proposition that’s tough to beat.

This month, get a Volkswagen ID.4 with 0% financing for up to 72 months or a $5,000 customer cash bonus to stack with it.

Disclaimer: the vehicle models and financing deals above were sourced from CarsDirectCarEdge, and (where mentioned) the OEM websites – and were current as of 13MAY2025. These deals may not be available in every market, with every discount, or for every buyer (the standard “with approved credit” fine print should be considered implied). Check with your local dealer(s) for more information.

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GOP tax bill helps its biggest donor Musk, but harms his company, Tesla

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GOP tax bill helps its biggest donor Musk, but harms his company, Tesla

Republicans announced a new tax plan today and it’s just about as bad for America as expected, taking money for healthcare, clean air and energy efficiency from American families and sending it to the ultra-wealthy instead.

You might think that this helps one of those ultra-wealthy, Elon Musk, who gave hundreds of millions of dollars to ani-EV candidates to help make this happen. But the main source of his wealth, Tesla, will be specifically harmed by rescission of EV credits – and its competitors largely won’t be.

Now that the republican party has unveiled its job-killing tax proposal, we know a little more about what’s in it.

Originally, it was thought by many that the proposal would completely kill all federal EV credits, with some estimating that the $7,500 credit would go away immediately (personally, I never thought it would be that stupid, but you never know with the republicans).

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But it’s clear they want to destroy the credit and make cars more expensive for Americans. After all, Donald Trump, while running for an office he remains Constitutionally barred from holding, asked oil companies for a billion-dollar bribe in exchange for ending the EV credit, a promise he has continued to say he will uphold as he squats in the aforementioned office.

And last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the House is likely to end the credit.

It turns out the details are a little more nuanced than that, and that while the credit is ending, it will sunset a little later than many feared.

It’s likely that the credit will last through the end of this year – which makes sense, since that’s how tax changes often work. Then, at the end of the year, Inflation Reduction Act credits will largely disappear.

However, in the current draft of the bill, some automakers will retain access to some EV credits, for a time. This is due to an exception given for manufacturers who have not sold 200,000 vehicles between 2009 and 2025, a similar cap to the old EV tax credit that was first implemented in 2008, before Congress improved it and removed the cap in the Inflation Reduction Act.

So, smaller manufacturers will continue to have some support, while large manufacturers who have already sold plenty of cars will lose all of their credits.

A number of manufacturers have already reached the 200k EV cap, including Nissan, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, GM, and of course, Tesla. Those manufacturers will lose access to credits.

But others who started late or have more niche offerings continue to be under the 200k cap. These include companies like Mercedes, Honda, Lucid, Mazda and Subaru.

Specifically, Rivian has been identified as one of the possible winners here, as the company has not yet sold 200,000 vehicles, though should be crossing that line sometime in the next couple years.

And finally, the real competition for Tesla, gas cars, will not lose anything from the rescission of EV credits. Those cars will continue selling, they’ll just have a $7,500 advantage relative to today – on top of their advantage of each gas car being allowed to choke the world with $20,000+ in unpaid pollution costs, which show up on everyone’s hospital bills and health insurance premiums.

So that brings up an interesting point: when Tesla and its bad CEO Elon Musk threw their support behind all of this, what did they think they would get out of it?

After all, Tesla wrongly said, at the behest of Musk and his tortured logic, that ending EV credits would somehow help it.

We called out that obvious incorrect statement at the time, saying that No, for crying out loud, killing EV subsidies will not help an EV company.

But now it turns out that the situation is even worse for Tesla, because not only does Tesla’s gas competition get to keep the credits, but many electric competitors will get to keep them for some time as well.

And don’t forget that this last quarter, government incentives were the only thing keeping Tesla from losing money. A regulatory environment that is more hostile to Tesla could turn black to red on the balance sheet, along with dropping sales and negative brand perception. Thank the bad CEO you voted to give $55B to for that loss, shareholders.

But the oil companies, another competitor for Tesla, will continue to benefit from roughly $760 billion in subsidy per year in the US alone, in terms of the health and environmental costs they impose on society and do not pay for.

If that subsidy was ended alongside the $7,500 EV credit, then EVs would indeed come out on top. But instead of ending those massive subsidies to fossil fuels, republicans have proposed to increase them, by cutting down enforcement and loosening pollution limits, both through this tax bill and through other agency actions and proposals.

Further, the tax proposal unveiled today sunsets credits for many other products that Tesla sells. There are solar and home energy efficiency credits which Tesla takes advantage of through its Energy division, which sells solar and home battery systems to homeowners. These can be worth tens of thousands of dollars per installation, and those will go away if this proposal goes through.

So in the end, Tesla loses access to credits both on its cars and its Energy division, while its competitors get an even more beneficial regulatory environment to continue polluting. And even its electric competitors get a temporary leg up for the time being.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk gets his part of the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that go directly to wealthy elites. So at least his pocketbook will look slightly better for a time, even though the company that has been responsible for filling it it will fall further due to less attractive product pricing and through his own association, which has driven protests against the companyembarrassed owners and pushed many customers away.

So, to those of you who wanted us to “trust the plan” – how, exactly, is this beneficial to Tesla, again?


Among the proposed cuts is the rooftop solar credit. That means you could have only until the end of this year to install rooftop solar on your home, before republicans raise the cost of doing so by an average of ~$10,000. So if you want to go solar, get started now, because these things take time and the system needs to be active before you file for the credit.

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BYD just had its best sales week of 2025 in China with nearly 68,000 EV registrations

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BYD just had its best sales week of 2025 in China with nearly 68,000 EV registrations

China’s EV giant is on a roll. BYD is coming off its best sales week in China of 2025, racking up nearly 68,000 registrations. In comparison, Tesla logged just over 3,000.

BYD notches its best EV sales week of 2025

Another week, another impressive performance from BYD. Although most automakers saw higher sales for the week ending May 11, the company continues leading China’s EV market by a mile.

According to the latest insurance registration data (via CarNewsChina), BYD registered 67,980 vehicles from May 5 to May 11. That’s up 15% from the 58,310 registrations the previous week and BYD’s best sales week of 2025.

BYD’s premium sub-brands, Denza and Fang Cheng Bao, notched 2,990 and 2,660 registrations, respectively, up 3.8% and 17.7% from the prior week.

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NIO and XPeng posted stronger numbers last week in China, with 6,060 (+18.2%) and 6,870 (+23.8%) vehicle registrations. NIO’s new sub-brands are starting to gain traction. Onvo registered 1,660, and Firefly, which began deliveries on April 29, added 470 more.

BYD-best-sales-week-2025
BYD Seagull EV (Dolphin Mini overseas) Source: BYD)

During the week of May 5 to May 11, other Chinese EV brands, including Xiaomi, Deepal, and ZEEKR, also made strong showings. Xiaomi registered 5,180 vehicles of its sole EV, the SU7. Deepal registered 4,700 vehicles, and ZEEKR followed with 4,310.

Earlier today, Electrek reported that Tesla delivered just 3,070 vehicles in China last week, down 69% from the same week the prior year.

BYD-best-sales-week-2025
BYD’s wide-reaching electric vehicle portfolio (Source: BYD)

Tesla extended its 0% financing offer through June 30 to help drive demand and keep pace with BYD, SAIC, and others.

Electrek’s Take

Although EV sales were up 38% in China in April, Tesla’s fell 9% to 28,731. On the other hand, BYD sold over 380,000 new energy vehicles last month.

Those numbers include plug-in hybrids, but even if you look strictly at EV sales, BYD is leading Tesla and every automaker by a wide margin in China. Last month, BYD sold over 195,000 fully electric (EV) cars, the first time in over a year that BYD sold more EVs than PHEVs.

BYD’s overseas sales also hit a fifth straight month of growth, with over 79,000 vehicles sold. It outsold Tesla in key markets, including Germany (1,566 vs 855) and the UK (2,511 vs 512) in April.

Through April, the automaker has sold over 285,000 vehicles in overseas markets. With new manufacturing plans opening in Europe, Mexico, Brazil, Southeast Asia, and other global regions, BYD’s momentum is expected to accelerate over the next few years.

BYD is best known for its low-cost EVs, but it’s rapidly expanding into new segments with pickup trucks, luxury vehicles, and electric supercars rolling out.

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Trump’s tariffs stall US battery momentum as China powers ahead

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Trump’s tariffs stall US battery momentum as China powers ahead

China has reclaimed the No. 1 spot on BloombergNEF’s annual Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Ranking, bumping Canada to second place, as its low electricity prices and strong infrastructure gave it the edge in 2024.

The report ranks 30 countries based on how well they’re positioned to build a secure and sustainable battery supply chain, and this year’s reshuffling says a lot about where the market’s headed.

Canada, which had taken the lead in 2023, held onto a solid second-place finish, tied with the US. But while Canada is still a leader in battery raw materials and continues to attract investors with its stable political environment, it’s been slow to scale up battery manufacturing. That drop in momentum left the door open for China to reclaim its lead.

The US is facing its own set of challenges. The Inflation Reduction Act gave America’s battery industry a significant boost last year, but that progress is now under threat. Donald Trump’s latest tariffs and climate rollbacks are starting to push up costs for US battery makers. They’re also making the US less attractive to investors, which could slow down new projects and shrink domestic demand for EVs and storage systems.

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“Brazil and Indonesia registered the largest gains in the fifth edition of the ranking,” said Ellie Gomes-Callus, a metals and mining associate at BloombergNEF. “Growth across these emerging markets has been driven by surging demand and ambitious policy roadmaps. However, all eyes will be on the US this year, as it awaits the impact of the Trump administration’s trade policies.”

Japan and South Korea also climbed higher in the top 10. Their early lead in building out battery supply chains is still paying off, even as global competition heats up and profit margins shrink. Like China, they’ve managed to hold strong in all five of BloombergNEF’s scoring categories: raw materials, manufacturing, demand, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), and innovation.

Europe, on the other hand, is starting to slip. Out of 11 European countries in the ranking, only the Czech Republic and Turkey improved their standings this year. Five stayed the same, and four dropped. Hungary and Finland saw the biggest falls – seven and six spots, respectively. Hungary is now second-worst in Europe for ESG metrics, and Finland’s once-promising nickel and cobalt industries have lost steam, partly due to tough permitting rules. Case in point: BASF’s new battery component plant in Harjavalta has been delayed by permitting issues.

Without stronger government action and better support for manufacturers, Europe risks losing even more ground to fast-moving markets in South America and Southeast Asia.

The report also highlighted some other trends shaping the global battery race. Canada stayed strong overall but lost ground in manufacturing. A few major companies, including Ford, E-One Moli, and Umicore, have paused investments despite new government support, citing weaker-than-expected demand.

Meanwhile, Europe’s battery growth is slowing as capacity lags behind other regions and demand softens due to smaller market sizes and EV saturation in places like the Nordics. Countries in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia are falling behind as a result.

The raw materials side of the market isn’t looking great either. Supply is up, but demand is down. There’s too much material and not enough buyers. And while the market for mined metals is overflowing, refined battery metals tell a more mixed story. Still, one thing hasn’t changed: China remains the dominant force in refining, and it’s still leading the way in building new manufacturing capacity, even as other countries struggle to scale up.

Unless the US and Europe can course-correct quickly, they may find themselves watching from the sidelines as China and emerging economies lead the next phase of the global battery boom.


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