The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.
China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting
More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.
While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.
In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.
Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.
North America is stuck in the slow lane
Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.
Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.
And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.
Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.
Top comment by Jilles van Gurp
I just traveled for a few weeks in Portugal and pondered their bright economical future a bit. The last time I was there, the country was a bit of a mess. That was around 2011. The country was struggling economically and poverty was really visible. I found a completely different country. Things are booming here. Portugal has invested in the future and it's showing.
Their grid is 70-80% renewables already. EVs make a lot of sense here: low incomes, cheap renewable electricity, locally produced budget EVs. There's still a lot of pollution here but the transition is very visible here. Electric buses, electric ferries in Lisbon, etc. are all happening. Lots of Teslas and other EVs on the street. Things are moving fast here. I saw BYD stores, advertisements, and cars in Porto and Lisbon. Portugal is one of the car manufacturing hubs in Europe and producing lots of EVs.
The big picture here is: Portugal is going to decimate their fossil fuel imports over the course of a few short years. It's running on cheap renewable energy. It's a manufacturing hub for EVs. It's going to be a very different country by 2040 with a booming economy that is no longer burdened by pollution, expensive fossil fuel imports, etc. I'm seriously considering moving there. It's a nice, positive place.
The US is choosing a different path. I think it will burden the US economy with high cost and poor efficiency. And all the economic side effects that will have on exports, interest, inflation, etc.
Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024
- Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
- China: 5.5 million (+32%)
- Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
- North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
- Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)
Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025
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