As Ford Authority reported this past summer, the passage of a new budget bill means that the federal EV tax credit will expire after today, September 30th, 2025, which has resulted in quite the influx in demand for vehicles that qualify for the incentive. Ford – which is obviously concerned about the impacts this change will have on both its EV sales and under-construction plants – was quick to warn dealers that this would be the case, too. Now, however, it appears to have found a temporary workaround.
According to Reuters, both Ford and GM are working to effectively extend the $7,500 federal EV tax credit for leases beyond today’s expiration date by signing dealers up for new programs. Those programs aim to use both automakers’ financing arms – in The Blue Oval’s case, Ford Credit – to make a down payment on qualifying models and initiate the purchasing process in existing inventory.
Turns out, that process means that the lending arms will qualify for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, after which dealers can offer them as leases to customers for several more months – with the incentive factored into that price. Both automakers apparently discussed this plan with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), seemingly meaning that it’s legitimate, though that agency declined to comment.
As for Ford Credit, that financing arm stated that it’s working to provide EV customers with “competitive lease payments on retail leases” through the end of 2025. “We worked with our GM dealers on an extended offer for customers to benefit from the tax credit for leases” of EVs, GM said in a statement. The idea is to continue to capitalize on this particular incentive for months to come, helping to soften the blow of losing the credit abruptly, at least, as analysts predict that EV leases and sales could plummet following its disappearance.
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