Rho Motion, the leading EV research house, today revealed that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in February 2025 is 1.2 million. The EV market grew by almost 50% compared to February 2024, but fell by 3% compared to January 2025.
Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented: “It’s been a solid start to the year for EV sales globally with a 50% bump in February compared to the previous year. Much of the growth continues to come from China which are seeing a pure electric renaissance this year compared to the hybrid love affair of 2024. Despite high tariffs, their domestic brand, BYD, shows no signs of slowing down their home and international expansion.
“Meanwhile, in Europe, battery electric cars are flavour of the month with a leap of 29% year-to-date. France’s weight tax on plug-in hybrids has had a big impact on those vehicle sales which are down almost 50% so far this year. Manufacturers might be relieved that the EU has introduced flexibility into the emissions standards, but they will still need to put their foot to the pedal to avoid large fines.
“As for North America, the region is seeing steady growth of 20% so far this year. American drivers bought 30% more electric vehicles than they had by this time last year, making use of the final months of IRA tax breaks before the incentives are expected to be pulled later this year.”
Snapshot electric vehicle sales in Jan-Feb 2025 vs Jan-Feb 2024, Year to Date (YTD) %
– Global: 2.4 million, +30%
– China: 1.4 million, +35%
– EU & EFTA & UK: 0.5 million, +20%
– USA & Canada: 0.3 million, +20%
– Rest of World: 0.2 million, +35%
Europe
The European EV market continues to grow at 20% YTD. The Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) market takes the lion’s share of this growth at 29% YTD, with Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) modestly growing at 2% YTD. Most European markets are up YTD, with the exception of France which remains down due to the introduction of a weight tax on PHEVs which began in January 2025 which has led to a decrease in PHEVs by 48% YTD.
However, BEV sales in France are now up by 1% YTD. The German and UK BEV market continues strong sales with both over 40% YTD. The EU Commission has proposed flexibility for car and van manufacturers meeting CO2 standards. The flexibility would allow these manufacturers to meet these targets by averaging performance over three years, helping prevent large fines that several car manufacturers were expected to face.
China
The Chinese market increased by 76% in February 2025 compared to the same month last year. However, Chinese New Year was in the middle of February last year, compared to this year where it was at the beginning of the month. Therefore, it is best to compare YTD figures, that still show the Chinese market up by 35%.
Last year, PHEV growth was outpacing BEV growth. However, so far this year in China BEV sales have grown by 46% and PHEVs by 22%. In the opening two months of 2025, BYD have already sold over 130,000 EVs overseas as it continues its global expansion. In the EU & EEA, the tariffs have yet to deter BYD as monthly sales figures continue to rise.
North America
The North American EV market (US, Canada, and Mexico) has grown by 20% YTD, with the Mexican market more than doubling due to the rise in Chinese EV imports that started in bulk last year. The US saw a 28% growth in battery electric vehicle sales growth so far this year.
While the US Clean Vehicle Tax Credit is yet to be removed, the first Bill has been introduced to remove the tax credit. The Eliminating Lavish Incentives to Electric (ELITE) Vehicles Act (S. 541) repeals the credits for new and used EVs, removes the ‘leasing loophole’ and eliminates the EV charging station tax credit. It is expected that it would take several months to remove the tax credit and consumers are likely to try to take advantage of it before it goes.
The US’ largest BEV manufacturer, Tesla, has had a rocky start to the year with January’s sales showing struggles in Europe (down –47%) and China (-15%). This compares to those same BEV markets seeing a growth of 33% and 16% respectively. Tesla’s sales in France, Germany, the UK and Belgium were particularly badly hit seeing a 63% dip.
[source: Rho Motion]
