Electric vehicle sales reached 9.1 million globally in the first half of 2025, representing a 28% year-on-year increase, according to new data from Rho Motion, part of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
China accounted for 5.5 million of those sales, with a 32% increase on last year, while Europe saw 2.0 million sales, up 26%. North America recorded just 3% growth, with Canada showing a notable decline of 23%. The global market grew by 7% month-on-month in June alone.
Charles Lester, data manager at Rho Motion, said: “Today’s EV sales figures of the first half of 2025 show that China and Europe are steaming ahead in terms of the electric transition.
“Over one in two electric vehicles sold in the world are being bought in China and around half of purchased new cars in the country are electric.
“Despite some nervousness over subsidies, we expect this strong EV sales trend to continue over the course of the year. European growth, while strong, hasn’t been uniform across the region.
“The UK and Germany are leading the way, leaving France in their dust as price-sensitive drivers continue to be at the mercy of subsidies.
“North America, and in particular Canada, is experiencing a slowdown of EV sales in 2025. With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the USA could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
In Europe, Germany and the UK saw strong increases of 40% and 32% respectively, while France fell by 13% following subsidy cuts.
Spain posted the largest rise, up 85% year to date, aided by the continuation of the MOVES III incentive scheme.
Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) both grew by 26% and 27% respectively, with the latter buoyed by Chinese manufacturers seeking to avoid tariffs.
In North America, the US market has grown by 6%, Mexico by 20%, but Canada’s fall of 23% has dragged regional growth down to just 3%.
Changes to EV tax incentives under the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ signed by President Trump are expected to temporarily boost sales before the expiry of tax credits at the end of Q3, followed by a likely sharp decline in Q4.
Despite reports of subsidy shortfalls in some cities, the Chinese market continues to lead in volume and growth, with expectations of further Government funding in H2 2025 to sustain momentum.
