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Power Transportation

EV Sales Are Still Rising. They Have Not Slumped (electrek.co) 126

Posted by EditorDavid from the charged-topics dept.
"Media headlines suggesting some slowdown in EV sales are simply incorrect," writes the site Electrek, "and leave out the bigger picture that gas car sales actually are dropping..." Over the course of the last two years or so, sales of battery electric vehicles, while continuing to grow, have posted lower year-over-year percentage growth rates than they had in years prior. EV sales used to grow at 50%+ per year, but for the last couple years, they have grown closer to ~25% per year. This alone is not particularly remarkable — it is inevitable that any growing product or category will show slower percentage growth rates as sales rise, particularly one that has been growing at such a fast rate for so long. In some recent years, we had even seen year-over-year doublings in EV market share (though one of those was 2020->2021, which was anomalous). To expect improvement at that level perpetually would be close to impossible — after 3 years of doubling market share from 2023's 18% number, EVs would account for more than 100% of the global automotive market, which cannot happen...

We have seen a global EV sales growth rate of 23% in the first 10 months of this year, according to a report just released by Rho Motion (recently acquired by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence). That includes a +32% bump in Europe, +22% bump in China, +4% in North America, and a big +48% bump in the "rest of the world." Notably, this 23% global growth rate is higher than last year's YTD growth rate, which was 22% at this time...

In covering these trends, some journalists have attempted to use the less-wrong phrase "slower growth," showing that EV sales are still growing, but at a lower percentage change than previously seen. But for the first ten months of this year, that isn't true — EV sales are up more in 2025 than in 2024 by a percentage basis. They are also up in raw sales numbers — in 2024, EV sales grew by a larger number than in 2023. And the same is true so far in 2025. Going back to 2023, 10.7 million EVs were sold globally in the first 10 months. Then in 2024, 13.3 million were sold, a difference of 2.6 million. And so far in 2025, 16.5 million EVs have sold, a difference of 3.2 million. Not only are the numbers getting bigger, but the growth in unit sales is getting bigger as well.
Even in America, the EV market "has increased so far this year, with 11.7% US EV sales growth YTD." In terms of US hybrid sales, much has been made of customers "shifting from EVs to hybrids," which is also not the case. Conventional gas-hybrid sales are indeed up and plug-in hybrids, which have grown more slowly than gas-hybrids/BEVs, have also shown some growth lately. But gas-hybrid sales have not come at the cost of EV sales, rather at the cost of gas-only car sales.

Because that's just the thing: the number of gas-only vehicles being sold worldwide is a number that actually is falling. That number continues to go down year over year. Sales of new gas-powered cars are down by about a quarter from their peak in 2017, and show no signs of recovering... And yet, somehow, virtually every headline you read is about the "EV sales slump," rather than the "gas-car sales slump." The one you keep hearing about isn't happening, but the one you rarely hear about is happening... No matter what region of the world you're in, EV sales were up in the first 10 months of this year.
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EV Sales Are Still Rising. They Have Not Slumped More

EV Sales Are Still Rising. They Have Not Slumped

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  • One source says +4% in North America in the fist 10 months of the year and another source says that there has been 11.7% US EV sales growth YTD.

    Can both be true? How?

    If they can't both be true, how can I trust such wildly disparate numbers? Which is correct and how can we know?

    • Canada is really bogging down the numbers, obviously.

      North America is United States and Canada.

      US is just the United States.

      • People who live in cold weather don't feel comfortable buying them yet.

        • And yet they're quite popular in Scandinavia. I think they're just not popular among you wildlings.

          • Small country, probably a lot of other travel options.

            • Nonsense. Sweden alone is bigger than California. Sweden and Norway together make up for half the size of Alaska. And just like Alaskans, European Nordics have nowhere to go with their cars that isn't ice-cold. Yet the Nordics buy a majority of EV (Sweden 60.7% BEV as of Q1 2025 https://www.electromaps.com/en... [electromaps.com] ) which wouldn't happen if that was a bad option for a main vehicle.

              • Well they are smaller than Canada and the US are they not? They probably have a more evenly distributed population rather than major cities with hours in between without anything so they know they can place a charger anywhere and it will be profitable. Also in combination with being smaller, they have better mass transit which means you aren't depending on the EV to go everywhere you want to go. On top of that, Norway basically bribes people to buy EVs. They make EVs less expensive while making ICEs mor

                • 1) That "USA" or "Canada" are bigger does not matter. Sweden is integrated in the EU, which serves the purpose of the larger country. The correct comparison is with US or Candian states that have similar characteristics. 2) Sweden obviously has low-populated remote areas. Data shows the EV adoption ion these areas are not lower than in the more urbanized area of the capital city. See. F. Stamm, Electric Mobility in Sweden: The geography of BEVs in Sweden, https://evs38-program.org/imag... [evs38-program.org]

                  Your calling govern

                  • But the fact is still that it is easier to travel around Europe using alternative methods and the incentives are there to make EVs more viable. Here they are expected to sell basically on their own merits and the price doesn't yet match their utility.

                    • Here they are expected to sell basically on their own merits and the price doesn't yet match their utility.

                      Right I concede you that the end of subsidies in the US certainly affected the growth of EV sales. However, subsidies do not make EVs so much less expensive than ICEs, just maybe slightly lower. Purchasing a new vehicle is still a large amount of money that one wouldn't make if their utility wasn't at roughly equivalent. Therefore I think more important argument is perceived value, including in terms of being fashionable (living in the times). Like for example the compared market share of Apple devices in U

                    • Ok well I think that's a tad simplistic. Most people buy vehicles that will do what they need them to. I think buying things to be fashionable is more of an American thing. Not many people can be doing it though, because I see a lot of old and dented vehicles when I'm down there.

                    • I meant people are biased towards positive or negative views in connection with their personal history, political views, what they hear in the media, etc. For example I assume there is a negative bias against EVs among right-wing supporters in the USA, which divides by 2 the market potential. I assume people in the Nordics are positively biased (for example they might think electric engine is more comfortable to drive, or that migrating out of fossil fuels is important). If the price is roughly similar, and

              • Also, I might add that rental vehicles are half the cost across the ocean. In fact they are dirt cheap compared to Canada. So you can rent a train and rent a vehicle without blowing your budget. In the last couple years rentals have gone up to easily 150 a day so I am always trying to drive my own vehicle whenever possible.
          • According to copilot, Scandinavia also gives tax exemptions and lowered rates for EVs. Here they are expected to work more on their own merit.

          • Not really "popular" but the only sensible choice due to heavy taxation of ICE cars. EVs are exempt from VAT tax, registration tax, circulation tax, even free parking, toll roads and ferrying in some cases.
            ICEs are effectively double the cost due to govt mandates.
            Whether the govt mandates are a good or a bad thing - it's another debate, but EVs were forced on people and not that popular.

            • "Forced on people"? No, not even close. You can choose what type of car you buy.

              If you're trying to argue that people's decisions are forced onto them by the cost, then you don't get to ignore the way we allow people to not pay externalized costs. That, too, is a govt mandate, and one which by far favors ICE cars.

      • Re:I Can't Math (Score:4, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 15, 2025 @06:09PM (#65797979)

        and Mexico...

        • and Mexico...

          You're telling me that a country that doesn't even have the plumbing infrastructure to handle flushing used toilet paper has the power infrastructure to support electric cars?

    • Can both be true? How?

      Yes. One is for all of North America (does that include Mexico?). The other is for just the United States. There are lots of other reasons they may not be comparable.

      One is for the first ten months but its not clear what period the other number includes. Given the end of EV incentives in the US there may well have been a bubble of sales in those first ten months

      Its also not clear what periods either are being compared to or what outside factors might effect the baseline they are being compared to.

      So yes

  • Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics (Score:4, Insightful)

    by RossCWilliams ( 5513152 ) on Saturday November 15, 2025 @06:06PM (#65797973)
    The problem here is that the author is choosing statistics to support a conclusion, not to get to a conclusion. For instance this:

    the number of gas-only vehicles being sold worldwide is a number that actually is falling.

    Sales of new gas-powered cars are down

    Those are different things.

    But gas-hybrid sales have not come at the cost of EV sales, rather at the cost of gas-only car sales.

    Even in America, the EV market "has increased so far this year, with 11.7% US EV sales growth YTD."

    The actual numbers are from the first three quarters when incentives were still available. The recent reports have been that sales have dived after a brief increase just before incentives ended.

    There is simply no point in trying to decipher what is real here. Its basically industry propaganda.

    That said, its pretty easy to see that China is producing a LOT of EV's that are likely going to be on the road, but whether they replace an ICE vehicle or not is an open question. If you ask what data would answer that question, you don't see it here. If the goal is to reduce emissions,that is the question about EV sales that matters. Because if they aren't replacing an ICE vehicle they are just one more source of emissions.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sinij ( 911942 )

      The actual numbers are from the first three quarters when incentives were still available. The recent reports have been that sales have dived after a brief increase just before incentives ended.

      Please stop ruining The Narrative with your malinformation and facts.

    • Re:Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics (Score:4, Informative)

      by Sique ( 173459 ) on Saturday November 15, 2025 @06:21PM (#65797991) Homepage
      There is a problem with your argument. The article is about worldwide sales. Of those, U.S. subsidies only affect a small part, which we can safely ignore as a rounding error.

      • The article is about worldwide sales.

        Agreed. But then there is this:

        Even in America, the EV market "has increased so far this year, with 11.7% US EV sales growth YTD

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Luthair ( 847766 )
          The YTD statistic is also nonsense, the US incentive just ended and its generally thought that people would have pulled their planned purchases forward to benefit from the incentive. We won't really know until later the reality here.

    • Re:Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics (Score:4, Insightful)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Saturday November 15, 2025 @06:38PM (#65798009)

      The actual numbers are from the first three quarters when incentives were still available.

      Incentives are available all over the world. These are world wide numbers. The USA isn't moving the dial much here.

      The actual numbers are from the first three quarters when incentives were still available. The recent reports have been that sales have dived

      Stop gaslighting. There were plenty of articles saying EV sales were declining even in April.

      There is simply no point in trying to decipher what is real here. Its basically industry propaganda.

      There's no propaganda, there's just numbers. You can read them how you want, you posted it yourself. It's lies, damn lies, and statistics. Interpret the statistics yourself, the numbers are there for you.

      • The numbers are there for you.

        Sometimes what's not there is a lot more important and what propaganda leaves out. And the numbers that are there don't actually tell the story.

        There were plenty of articles saying EV sales were declining even in April.

        Where are those stories and over what period of time did they claim worldwide sales were declining? Whose gaslighting here?

        • Not Here [iea.org]

          "Electric car sales topped 17 million worldwide in 2024, rising by more than 25%.1 Just the additional 3.5 million cars sold in 2024 compared to 2023 outnumber total electric car sales in the whole of 2020."

          Not here either [oilprice.com]

          " According to Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% YoY. Not surprisingly, China led, with 5.5 million units, followed by Europe with 2 million."

          But maybe your were talking about this:

          "In contrast to strong global figures, the U.S. marke

    • And I think it's safe to say they're going to lose sales. I don't think they'll lose all of them but I would expect to lose about half that quarter or about 12%. Worst case it could be as high as 15.

      A normal company losing 15% of its sales would be dead meat. Wall Street would cut it up for parts.

      But people bought into Tesla when it was so ridiculously overvalued that everybody is afraid of being the one who pulls the trigger. Nobody wants to get caught holding the bag when it eventually collapses.

  • If by next year EV sales in the US haven't tanked, I'll be somewhat surprised - since Trump and his puppet-masters are actively trying to kill EVs for some reason.

    Regardless, as I've mentioned before - my next car will be an EV, likely a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or 6. It's just a question of when I make the purchase. It's possible I'll change my mind on the make, although I can say for sure it will not be a Tesla.

    • If by next year EV sales in the US haven't tanked

      This article is not about the USA. Trump's hateboner for anything progressive won't stop the rest of the world from adopting new tech.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by 0xG ( 712423 )

        Trump's hateboner for anything progressive won't stop the rest of the world from adopting new tech.

        Hateboner for anything progressive - what a great phrase.
        You are an artist!

    • my next car will be an EV,

      Buy used.

    • I like the look of the Ioniq 6 a lot. Definitely has a a classic Citroen look about it. The 5 I'd like better if it were smaller in every dimension. It looks like someone inflated a VW Golf, but I'd rather have something the size of a Golf.

      A 6 is probably in my future if my gas car finally kicks it. My wife has a PHEV (Honda Clarity) and barely uses any gas at all.

    • Regardless, as I've mentioned before - my next car will be an EV, likely a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or 6.

      You might want to look into the problems they've been having with their ICCUs. It actually bit the Technology Connections YouTube guy, which was kind of funny because he'd been a big fan of his Ioniq 5 until it shit itself. I think lately he's been fixing up a Nissan Cube with a standard tranny. That's an odd pivot from an EV, but I guess he's begun to value having a car that is based on tech you can wrench yourself when things go wrong.

      • You may want to note that this Youtube's guy primary complaint was about the poor customer service, that seems to be quite regional, and that he very much still is a fan of his Ioniq 5 with the strongest comment being that until this is fixed it is "a bit harder to recommend [the car]. Still consider it."

        This got a lot of bad press this year so I suspect if the OP's next car will come sometime next year it's likely not going to be a problem anymore. But ... they have been working on this issue a while alrea

        • Based on past experiences I've had owning ICE Hyundai cars, I'd personally never trust them with an EV. The most recent Hyundai I owned, an Elantra, had problems with the electronic power steering and the tranny. My mother had a 2014 Accent that was recalled due to an issue where it could leak brake fluid inside the ABS module and catch fire. Their fix under the recall? They install a lower rated fuse on that specific circuit, so if it shorts out you just end up with a busted ABS module rather than a fi

  • This is completely unsurprising (Score:3)

    by shilly ( 142940 ) on Saturday November 15, 2025 @07:06PM (#65798051)

    UK market dynamics have shifted significantly in the last couple of years, in the direction of better choices and incentives:
    - New tax breaks
    - New purchase incentives
    - Wider choice of superminis (R5, Inster, Spring, etc), smaller SUVs (EV2 etc), and other cars at a lower price point than before
    - Wider choice of premium EVs from European OEMs, eg BMW’s seemingly endless models, the new CLA, etc
    - Entry of Chinese-branded EVs such as BYD, Xpeng, etc (in addition to Chinese-owned such as MG etc)
    - Continued expansion of the charger network and much wider adoption of contactless

    The result is that 37k EVs were sold in October vs 64k petrol cars, ie 58% of the size of the petrol segment. A year ago it was 30k EVs and 73k petrol, ie 41%. That’s a pretty rapid pace of change, and it will clearly continue apace.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by 0123456 ( 636235 )

      It's weird because I watched a Youtube video the other day where some guy who has a long-established UK car channel had collected all the registration data from DVLC for EV sales in the UK and showed that they'd dropped significantly in 2025.

      Is this a case of classifying hybrids as EVs or something?

  • It's very simple.
    Big oil don't want you to get an EV, for really obvious reasons that should not elude anyone by now.

    Their entire infrastructure and business model is built on the gas-station.
    Mom & Pop gas stations don't want to invest in EV chargers either, basically because it's slower, will take up more space.

    There is another phenomena on the rise, EV-charging malls. Innovative businesses have found out that if they make a parking lot with EV chargers, then they have an incentive to make customers th

  • Haven't seen an increase in EV chargers either. Not a single charger in my county.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ukoda ( 537183 )
      What country is that which has zero chargers? Actually how did you post your message with no electricity?

  • The US subsidy ended sept 30, 2025. The run up to that saw a big sales spike. Before then, all data is irrelevant compared to after then. Elsewhere in the world is largely unaffected.

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