New Electric Cars of 2025: Prices, Features & Release Dates Revealed

Lead: Automakers, tech firms, and regulators are accelerating the shift toward electric and self-driving cars in late May 2025, marking one of the industry’s most pivotal weeks of the year. Subheading: U.S. Senate Pushes Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act of 2025, a bill that would let companies deploy up to 100,000 self-driving cars without human-operated controls over the next five years, provided they meet rigorous safety benchmarks. If passed, the legislation could cut regulatory red tape, creating a clear runway for robotaxi fleets and delivery pods. Subheading: Tesla Unleashes “Unsupervised” Full Self-Driving in Berlin Just hours after the bill’s unveiling, Tesla released a time-lapse showing new Model Y crossovers driving themselves down the Gigafactory Berlin test track with zero human intervention. The footage confirms CEO Elon Musk’s claim that hardware-4 vehicles are ready for hands-off urban navigation, reigniting debate over whether the brand will launch a Level 4 robotaxi service ahead of rivals Waymo and Cruise. Subheading: NHTSA Relaxes Reporting Requirements On the regulatory front, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration eliminated certain quarterly disclosure rules for autonomous test programs, arguing that real-time crash data now flows directly from connected-car APIs. Analysts say the change reduces compliance costs for startups while giving the agency faster insight into edge-case collisions. Subheading: EV Adoption Faces Cost and Charging Friction Despite the buzz around self-driving tech, a new American Muscle survey of 4,300 shoppers found that 57 percent delayed purchasing an electric car in 2024 because of high MSRPs and inconsistent public-charging performance. Consumers cited price-tag sticker shock, slow rural DC fast-chargers, and payment-app fragmentation as top pain points. Subheading: Industry Response—Price Cuts, Plug-and-Charge, and Battery Swaps • General Motors pledged to shave $7,500 off the 2025 Chevy Equinox EV by sourcing lower-cost LFP battery packs from CATL. • Electrify America announced a nationwide “plug-and-charge” rollout by Q4, enabling automatic billing the moment a driver connects the cable. • Chinese automaker NIO confirmed it will open its first U.S. battery-swap station in Los Angeles this summer, promising three-minute pack exchanges for NIO ET5 owners. Subheading: What It Means for Shoppers in 2025 1. More affordable electric cars: Increased battery competition and federal tax credits could push average EV transaction prices below $40,000 by early 2026. 2. Faster, simpler charging: Universal ISO-15118 “plug-and-charge” and Tesla’s open NACS charging standard are on track to dominate North American infrastructure, reducing range anxiety. 3. Self-driving pilot programs in new cities: Expect to see geofenced robotaxi trials spread from Phoenix and San Francisco to Austin, Miami, and Denver within 12 months. Closing: From sweeping legislation to hands-off demos and cheaper batteries, the car industry’s transformation is accelerating. Shoppers researching “electric cars,” “autonomous vehicles,” or simply “cars” can expect weekly breakthroughs that reshape how we drive, charge, and commute in 2025.