Global EV sales hit 9.1 million in first half of 2025

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.