Here’s how China, not Europe, is driving growth in global EV sales

November marked another record-breaking month for EV sales with 1.8 million units sold globally, according to the report by EV research-house, Rho Motion.

November overtook the previous record set in October 2024 by 100,000.

The Chinese market once again beat its previous record set last month (October) by over 50,000 vehicles, to reach almost 1.3 million units sold in November 2024.

Overall, 15.2 million EVs have been sold globally so far this year, growing by 25% year-to-date, according to Rho Motion.

“This quarter has picked up significantly for EV sales globally as we see record-breaking month after record-breaking month,” said Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester. “However, the regional picture is somewhat uneven with Europe shrinking 3% this year so far and once more China accounts for over two-thirds of the electric vehicles sold in November.”

European EV sales are lagging

According to the report, the EV market of the region of the EU & EFTA and the UK remains down, total EV sales dropped by 3% in November, compared to the same period last year. The region had 280,000 units sold last month, thus reaching 2.7 million units sold year-to-date.

Separately, the UK market has had a strong second half of 2024, growing by 17% year-to-date, bolstered by the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, a government policy regulating EV sales and setting tough targets for the carmakers.

According to a separate report by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) manufacturers gave big discounts to make sure they meet the EV sales targets, wrote the BBC.

Meanwhile, the biggest European economies, including Germany, France and Italy, had weak EV sales numbers on a year-to-date basis.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association’s figures for October (the latest available at the time of publishing this article), the year-to-date EV sales volumes dropped by 4.9% in the EU, while market share also fell to 13.2% from 14% last year, counting the first ten months of the year.

European car manufacturers are struggling with high production costs and rising competition, leading to some of the biggest carmakers announcing job cuts and plant closures.

Global EV sales are up, led by China

China set a new record, with 1.3 million units sold in November 2024, which almost entirely came from battery electric vehicle sales (BEV) in that month, and brands including Geely, Tesla, and Changan sold the most.

However, on a year-to-date basis, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) sales were stronger, those have almost doubled, whereas BEV sales have grown by a more modest 18% year-to-date in China.

In the US and Canada the EV market continues to grow at a steady pace of 10% year-to date, says the report by Rho Motion.

The EV research house expects continued strong growth towards the end of the year, driven by President-Elect, Donald Trump’s, reported aim to get rid of the Biden tax credit. “We expect this would bring forward purchases from consumers in order to take advantage of the tax credit,” read the report.