From expiring EV tax breaks, tariffs on imports, and new tax incentives for cars built in the United States, Pennsylvania drivers — already divided along party lines — are impacted. Tesla owners are also caught up in Elon Musk's support of the Trump administration.
As a battleground state, Pennsylvania is ideally suited to examine how consumer car choices diverge in strongly Republican and Democratic regions. To understand this divide, The Inquirer talked to car owners, industry experts, and analyzed data on over 11 million registered vehicles in the state as of April 2025 from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, comparing the most popular brands by zip codes based on the Republican or Democrat lean of the drivers there.
The results show that feelings about electric vehicles, pickup trucks, and American brands have led to different types of cars being popular in Pa.'s most political strongholds.
Tesla, the top-selling EV in Pa., had strong sales in its Democratic-heavy zip codes, but more than half are models from 2023 or earlier, before Musk ramped up support for the Trump administration. And while trucks are popular in the state, the Cybertruck has sold poorly, particularly in Philadelphia.
American-made pickup trucks are big sellers across Pennsylvania , and are heavily favored in conservative areas. Not just with rural drivers however — Ford trucks, for example, lead all vehicles in strongly conservative cities and suburban zip codes as well.
When it comes to strongly Democratic areas, two-thirds of passenger vehicles are made by foreign brands, compared with one third in strongly Republican areas.
Meanwhile, some popular brands — like Jeep , which is an American brand owned by a multinational company, and Subaru, a Japanese brand — mostly avoid political trappings and are liked in similar proportions across strongly conservative and liberal zip codes.
Tesla and EVs: A Political Hot Potato
The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car in four states last year: California , Washington , Nevada, and New Jersey . But in the midst of a contentious election season during which Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated hundreds of millions of dollars to support President Donald Trump, the top-selling U.S. EV maker also saw picketing outside its showrooms, organized under the slogan #TeslaTaketown.
Across Pennsylvania, there are more than 42,000 registered Teslas, heavily concentrated in Philadelphia's mostly bluer and wealthier suburbs. But among those buyers who invested in EVs, seeking a zero-emission vehicle, many became frustrated or embarrassed by Musk's dive into conservative politics.
It's led to some interesting interactions for Pa. Tesla owners.
When Josh Birdan bought his Tesla Model Y, he saw it as a financial asset to his career as an Uber driver in King of Prussia. He never expected it would upset some riders, including one who called it a "Nazi car."
"I have a personality where I can brush things off," said Birdan, who chooses not to vote. "At the end of the day you still have to wake up and continue your work."
Tesla isn't the only EV brand caught up in political opinions.
"Even Priuses," says Cotten Seiler, author of Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America. "People are sort of virtue signaling with those as well, that, 'I'm the type of person who wants there to be a climate solution, but I'm still in my car.'"
A survey published by Pew Research Center in June found that buying an EV fell strongly along party lines as 48 percent of Democrats in America said they would seriously consider one but only 18 percent of Republicans said they would.
Policy may affect people's future decision as well. After Sept. 30 , a $7,500 tax break on new EV purchases will go away as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
One notably poor-selling EV in Pennsylvania of late is the polarizing Tesla Cybertruck.
In Pennsylvania, spotting one of the 883 on the roads is rare enough that people often stop what they're doing to stare. Villanova is home to the highest rate of ownership of Cybertrucks, and even there they represent just three out of 4,300 registered vehicles. In Philadelphia there are 38 Cybertrucks out of more than half a million passenger vehicles.
Through April, only 52 Cybertrucks were newly registered in the state. Cost is high, as a new all-wheel drive Cybertruck lists for $79,990 on Tesla's website, but that's similar in price to a higher-end Ford F-150 Series truck.
Pickup Trucks: Utility and Attitude
Ford trucks are popular vehicles in Pennsylvania, but they dominate in strongly conservative-leaning zip codes.
There are 78,954 Ford trucks across zip codes where two-thirds of active voters are registered Republican, accounting for 10 percent of passenger vehicles in these areas. That's the highest percentage of any brand and type, just ahead of Chevy trucks and Ford SUVs.
"My grandfather worked on the line in Detroit for Ford for 20 years," said Mark Williford, owner of a 2012 Ford Escape who lives in Sellersville . His job was on the assembly line at the factory putting cars together, and it's the reason Mark, who identifies as a constitutional conservative, owns a Ford.
Jobs and poor road conditions in rural parts of Pennsylvania, areas that lean heavily Republican, may require owning a larger vehicle like a pickup. Among the top 10 most-owned vehicles, Chevy had the only sedan on the list in those areas statewide.
But the usefulness of a truck doesn't fully explain its popularity. Even in 238 strongly conservative zip codes that are based in cities and suburbia, the Ford truck is the most commonly registered vehicle on the road. According to Seiler, the automotive expert, drivers are not often getting utility out of the trucks they own.
"There's something about the utilitarian nature of a pickup truck that draws a lot of Americans to it," he said. "But, in reality, what most of us are doing is sitting in traffic."
Truck loyalty by party is not new. A 2008 survey by U.S. News found that nationally, 15 percent of Republicans drove pickup trucks, compared with just 3 percent of Democrats.
The bluest zip codes of Pennsylvania — where two-thirds of voters are registered as Democrats — own Ford trucks at much lower rates, accounting for less than 4 percent of passenger vehicles.
But pickup trucks also continue to grow in popularity. One in five privately purchased vehicles in Pa. in 2024 was a truck, up from 15 percent in 2008, according to an Inquirer analysis of registration data from both years.
And truck sales could see a boost after a new tax write-off for up to $10,000 of loan interest for new vehicles that have "final assembly" in the U.S. — legislation that will support brands like Ford and Chevy.
Imports Lead in Philly
In Philadelphia and other Democratic bases, roughly two-thirds of privately owned cars and trucks are made outside the U.S., mostly by Japanese and Korean automakers.
Carmakers like Honda, Toyota , Nissan, and Hyundai are facing pricing pressure on two fronts that could impact left-leaning buyers the most: Trump's tariffs on imports, and a tax break for purchasing a new vehicle assembled in America. It will take time to know how buyers will react, but brand loyalty can be hard to change.
Raimundo Santos, 58, has owned his 2021 Nissan Rogue SUV for two years and had another Nissan before that.
A resident of Northern Liberties, he said tariffs on foreign cars won't force him to change his mind about his next car purchase. "I would probably think the same way," he said.
Tariff costs won't just impact new purchases. They can also raise repair bills for roughly 400,000 foreign car and truck owners in Philadelphia like Santos, as imported parts rise in cost. In addition, car insurance companies could offset those higher repair prices with higher premiums.
The cars facing these kinds of pricing pressures are the most popular in Democratic areas, but people in Republican areas drive them, too. Honda had the top-selling vehicle in Pennsylvania last year with its CR-V, followed by the Toyota RAV4, according to research by Edmunds.
In Philadelphia, Toyota outpaces all brands owned with more than 83,000 on city streets, but close behind is Honda with about 13,000 fewer cars. Toyotas are the most-owned brand in half of Philadelphia's zip codes, data show.
When combined, Ford's trucks, sedans and SUVs are the most popular American vehicles owned in the city, but their trucks may be a harder sell where parking space is at a premium.
A 2025 Ford F-150 pickup with its shortest bed is about 209 inches long, while the Honda CR-V, popular in Philly, is easier to parallel park at 185 inches, a full two feet shorter. The CR-V is also rated for 26-43 miles-per-gallon during city driving, depending on the model. That's much higher than F-150 models with city ratings between 14 and 22 MPG.
'Politics Aside'
What happens when you combine a brand popular in conservative areas and a body type popular in liberal Pa? You get a car like the Chevy sedan that's equally found in liberal and conservative Pennsylvania .
Chevy sedans represent 3 percent of passenger vehicles in both deeply blue and deeply red areas.
And then there are Jeep and Subaru SUVs, which have breached the political divide.
Jeep and Subaru SUVs comprise about 6 percent and 5 percent of passenger vehicles respectively in conservative Pa. zip codes, 4 percent of vehicles in Democratic ones.
SUVs from the two brands rank among the top 10 most-owned vehicles in heavily Democratic and Republican areas of the state.
"There's something about the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee especially that resonates with both city drivers and folks out in the country," said Marc Lavoie, founder of Puzzle Auto, an AI-powered OS for car dealerships. "It gives you that truck-like toughness and higher driving position, but you can still parallel park it without breaking a sweat."
Jennifer Senzick is a 42-year-old Bucks County resident and owner of an orange Jeep Wrangler she calls Boujeep.
Senzick said " Jeep life" is about self-expression. For instance, she is bedazzling the front of her vehicle with custom rhinestones. Another example: Jeep drivers, she said, are known to leave one another small rubber ducks on their cars as gifts, known as " Jeep ducking."
"The Jeep wave, the ducking. It's a fun club to be a part of," she said.
It's a generally apolitical club, Senzick noted.
"I'm on multiple Jeep [Facebook] pages and plenty of times when someone posts a Trump duck, people will say, 'Trash that, throw that away'," she said. "We leave politics aside."
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