Data shows that electric car sales are up by a third globally

Despite trade disagreements and a slight pause from the previous month, the global market for electric cars continued its strong upward climb in April 2025. Fresh data from Rho Motion, a research firm specializing in battery and energy transition markets, shows that worldwide sales of EVs remained strong compared to the same time last year, proving the shift to electric vehicles is far from slowing down.

April saw roughly 1.5 million electric vehicles sold across the globe. While this number was a bit lower than the nearly 1.7 million EVs sold in March 2025 – a drop of about 12% month-over-month – it still represented significant growth when looking back a full year. Compared to April 2024, global EV sales jumped by an impressive 29%. This growth pushed the total number of electric vehicles sold worldwide in the first four months of 2025 to 5.6 million units.

China accounted for approximately 3.3 million of the year-to-date global sales figure, marking a 35% increase over the same period in 2024. China's market strength appears linked to the wide variety of models available at competitive prices, offering impressive technology for the money.

Europe recorded around 1.2 million electric vehicle sales from January through April 2025, representing a healthy 25% jump compared to the first four months of 2024. This uptick follows a somewhat slower period in 2024. A growing number of electric car brands, especially those from China like BYD, Zeekr, Nio, and XPeng, arriving in Europe helps boost choices and sales.

Meanwhile, the picture was a little different in North America. The market there saw more modest growth compared to other major regions, with sales reaching about 600,000 units year-to-date, an increase of just 5% over the same period in 2024. The "Rest of the World" category, which includes many emerging markets, showed the strongest percentage growth at 37%, though its total volume was smaller, around 500,000 units.

Analysts note that despite headline-grabbing discussions about trade barriers, the underlying trend in electric vehicle sales remains positive. Domestic car makers in key markets like China and Europe are doing well and capturing more of the market share. Europe's renewed push, driven by environmental targets, stands out as a success story for 2025 so far, while China's growth is further boosted by programs encouraging drivers to swap older cars for newer, cleaner ones. The data makes it clear: claims that EV adoption is slowing down just don't match what's happening on the ground globally.

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