Mercedes-Benz has seen the sale of its electric vehicles (EVs) increase significantly in the U.S. this year. However, a new report shows that dealers have had difficulty keeping up with inventory levels for the automaker’s EQ lineup, with sales times for the EVs exceeding the luxury segment average.
In the third quarter, Mercedes sold 10,423 EVs in the U.S., marking a 284-percent increase year over year. Despite the gradual increase in EV sales, the German automaker’s EVs are sitting on dealership lots and are not being sold off as quickly as other vehicles.
According to a report from Automotive News citing Edmunds data, Mercedes-Benz battery-electric EQ models took an average of 82 days to sell at dealerships in September. Comparatively, vehicles across the overall luxury segment averaged 57 days, while BMW vehicles took around 38 days to sell.
In various anonymous interviews with Automotive News, Mercedes dealers pointed to the brand’s lack of effort in responding to growing EV competition with sales programs and to the products themselves as the reasons for heightened inventory levels. One person who runs a Mercedes store said he currently has over six months’ worth of EVs and only a 50-day supply of the company’s gas cars.
“The EVs are coming whether or not you asked for them or earned them,” the retail store operator said. “There is too much of a price premium — especially at the top end of the EQ lineup — and almost no [lease] support.”
He added that the EQ models didn’t have the same “lust factor” as some of the automaker’s classic gas cars, including the S-Class sedan and the AMG-GT coupe.
“Our cars need to be ‘want’ cars,” he said. “The S-Class has maintained good loyalty because it’s aspirational. An EQS is not something that most people aspire to own.”
Credit: Automotive News
A Mercedes spokesperson declined to comment on internal discussions with its retailers.
CEO of Mercedes-Benz U.S., Dimitris Psillakis, blamed slow sales on a lack of product variety and on the EV segment being so new. Additionally, he pointed to issues in the supply chain as preventing variety at dealerships and keeping some more affordable models, such as the EQB compact EV, off of their lots.
“We are with a new lineup in a new world,” Psillakis said. “There is no past, there is no experience. We still face challenges around our product lines and have some restrictions coming from suppliers. We don’t always get the volume we want when we want it.”
Psillakis also said that Mercedes didn’t have any supply of the affordable EQB at the beginning of the year. Although this has changed, he says that it still takes time for the EV to reach dealers.
The Mercedes-Benz EV lineup and pricing structure is as follows, according to the automaker’s website:
- EQB (SUV); starts at $52,750
- EQE (sedan); starts at $74,900
- EQE (SUV); starts at $77,900
- EQS (sedan); starts at $104,400
- EQS (SUV); starts at $104,400
Other automakers have also faced difficulty in moving EVs alongside inflation and rising interest rates, and especially in the luxury segment.
The average EV overall sold in 36 days near the beginning of this year, according to a Cloud Theory report cited by Automotive News. By September, the report showed that this number had jumped to 80 days.
The problem is even worse for Mercedes and in the luxury segment overall. The average luxury EV sales time across brands increased by 73 percent in September compared to the same month last year, according to the aforementioned Edmunds data. For Mercedes dealers, the rate increased by 110 percent year over year.
“The ship of early adopters — willing to put a reservation down on virtually any EV announced — has sailed,” says Edmunds Insights Director Ivan Drury.
The report comes after Mercedes delayed its internal goals for electrification earlier this year, now aiming to reach a milestone of half of its auto sales being plug-in hybrids or fully electric by 2026 instead of a year prior. It also comes after Mercedes joined other automakers in adopting Tesla’s charging hardware, dubbed the North American Charging Standard (NACS).
Mercedes-Benz to launch Level 3 automated driving tech in the US by Q4
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Tesla stands to gain from Ford’s decision to ditch large EVs
Tesla is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Ford’s decision, especially as it will no longer have to deal with the sole pure EV pickup that outsold it from time to time: the F-150 Lightning.
Ford’s recent decision to abandon production of the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning after the 2025 model year should yield some advantages for Tesla.
The Detroit-based automaker’s pivot away from large EVs and toward hybrids and extended-range EVs that come with a gas generator is proof that sustainable powertrains are easy on paper, but hard in reality.
Tesla is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Ford’s decision, especially as it will no longer have to deal with the sole pure EV pickup that outsold it from time to time: the F-150 Lightning.
Here’s why:
Reduced Competition in the Electric Pickup Segment
The F-150 Lightning was the Tesla Cybertruck’s primary and direct rival in the full-size electric pickup market in the United States. With Ford’s decision to end pure EV production of its best-selling truck’s electric version and shifting to hybrids/EREVs, the Cybertruck faces significantly less competition.
Credit: Tesla
This could drive more fleet and retail buyers toward the Cybertruck, especially those committed to fully electric vehicles without a gas generator backup.
Strengthened Market Leadership and Brand Perception in Pure EVs
Ford’s pullback from large EVs–citing unprofitability and lack of demand for EVs of that size–highlights the challenges legacy automakers face in scaling profitable battery-electric vehicles.
Tesla, as the established leader with efficient production and vertical integration, benefits from reinforced perception as the most viable and committed pure EV manufacturer.
Credit: Tesla
This can boost consumer confidence in Tesla’s long-term ecosystem over competitors retreating to hybrids. With Ford making this move, it is totally reasonable that some car buyers could be reluctant to buy from other legacy automakers.
Profitability is a key reason companies build cars; they’re businesses, and they’re there to make money.
However, Ford’s new strategy could plant a seed in the head of some who plan to buy from companies like General Motors, Stellantis, or others, who could have second thoughts. With this backtrack in EVs, other things, like less education on these specific vehicles to technicians, could make repairs more costly and tougher to schedule.
Potential Increases in Market Share for Large EVs
Interestingly, this could play right into the hands of Tesla fans who have been asking for the company to make a larger EV, specifically a full-size SUV.
Customers seeking large, high-capability electric trucks or SUVs could now look to Tesla for its Cybertruck or potentially a future vehicle release, which the company has hinted at on several occasions this year.
With Ford reallocating resources away from large pure EVs and taking a $19.5 billion charge, Tesla stands to capture a larger slice of the remaining demand in this segment without a major U.S. competitor aggressively pursuing it.
News
Ford cancels all-electric F-150 Lightning, announces $19.5 billion in charges
“Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher returning areas, more trucks and van hybrids, extended range electric vehicles, affordable EVs, and entirely new opportunities like energy storage.”
Ford is canceling the all-electric F-150 Lightning and also announced it would take a $19.5 billion charge as it aims to quickly restructure its strategy regarding electrification efforts, a massive blow for the Detroit-based company that was once one of the most gung-ho on transitioning to EVs.
The announcement comes as the writing on the wall seemed to get bolder and more identifiable. Ford was bleeding money in EVs and, although it had a lot of success with the all-electric Lightning, it is aiming to push its efforts elsewhere.
It will also restructure its entire strategy on EVs, and the Lightning is not the only vehicle getting the boot. The T3 pickup, a long-awaited vehicle that was developed in part of a skunkworks program, is also no longer in the company’s plans.
Instead of continuing on with its large EVs, it will now shift its focus to hybrids and “extended-range EVs,” which will have an onboard gasoline engine to increase traveling distance, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Ford no longer plans to produce select larger electric vehicles where the business case has eroded due to lower-than-expected demand, high costs, and regulatory changes,” the company said in a statement.
🚨 Ford has announced it is discontinuing production of the F-150 Lightning, as it plans to report a charge of $19.5 billion in special items.
The Lightning will still be produced, but instead with a gas generator that will give it over 700 miles of range.
“Ford no longer… pic.twitter.com/ZttZ66SDHL
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 15, 2025
While unfortunate, especially because the Lightning was a fantastic electric truck, Ford is ultimately a business, and a business needs to make money.
Ford has lost $13 billion on its EV business since 2023, and company executives are more than aware that they gave it plenty of time to flourish.
Andrew Frick, President of Ford, said:
“Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher returning areas, more trucks and van hybrids, extended range electric vehicles, affordable EVs, and entirely new opportunities like energy storage.”
CEO Jim Farley also commented on the decision:
“Instead of plowing billions into the future knowing these large EVs will never make money, we are pivoting.”
Farley also said that the company now knows enough about the U.S. market “where we have a lot more certainty in this second inning.”
SpaceX employees, including its CEO Elon Musk, shaded American Airlines on social media this past weekend due to the company’s reported talks with Amazon’s Starlink rival, Leo.
Starlink has been adopted by several airlines, including United Airlines, Qatar Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, WestJet, Air France, airBaltic, and others. It has gained notoriety as an extremely solid, dependable, and reliable option for airline travel, as traditional options frequently cause users to lose connection to the internet.
Many airlines have made the switch, while others continue to mull the options available to them. American Airlines is one of them.
A report from Bloomberg indicates the airline is thinking of going with a Starlink rival owned by Amazon, called Leo. It was previously referred to as Project Kuiper.
American CEO Robert Isom said (via Bloomberg):
“While there’s Starlink, there are other low-Earth-orbit satellite opportunities that we can look at. We’re making sure that American is going to have what our customers need.”
Isom also said American has been in touch with Amazon about installing Leo on its aircraft, but he would not reveal the status of any discussions with the company.
The report caught the attention of Michael Nicolls, the Vice President of Starlink Engineering at SpaceX, who said:
“Only fly on airlines with good connectivity… and only one source of good connectivity at the moment…”
CEO Elon Musk replied to Nicolls by stating that American Airlines risks losing “a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails.”
American Airlines will lose a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2025
There are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit currently, offering internet coverage in over 150 countries and territories globally. SpaceX expands its array of satellites nearly every week with launches from California and Florida, aiming to offer internet access to everyone across the globe.
Currently, the company is focusing on expanding into new markets, such as Africa and Asia.
Tesla stands to gain from Ford’s decision to ditch large EVs
Ford cancels all-electric F-150 Lightning, announces $19.5 billion in charges
