Rho Motion: Global electric car market surges despite North American slowdown

The latest data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and Rho Motion reveal that EV sales around the world have reached a new milestone of 18.5 million units by the end of November 2025 - a huge 21% growth compared to the same period a year before. The month of November alone saw 2.0 million electric cars sold globally, confirming that despite pockets of resistance, demand for EVs remains strong and is supported by government policies and a growing selection of available models.

Europe is showing the biggest acceleration. The European market saw its sales of electric cars soar by 36% year-over-year in November, driving the year-to-date total to 3.8 million units, an overall rise of 33%. This massive growth comes directly from renewed government support. France, which had a slow start to the year due to earlier subsidy cuts, rebounded to show a 1% year-to-date increase in November.

The turnaround was fueled by major manufacturers like VW Group and Renault, and a national 'leasing social' program that helps lower-income families switch to electric cars. Italy also had a record November, selling nearly 25,000 electric cars after launching a new incentive to replace older internal combustion engine vehicles. This program set aside $699.74 million to help get approximately 39,000 older cars off the road. The United Kingdom expanded its subsidy list, adding five new models - the Nissan Leaf, MINI Countryman, Renault 4, Renault 5, and the Alpine A290 - which now qualify for the full $5,150 subsidy.

China continues to dominate the volume of electric car sales, having moved 11.6 million units so far in 2025, a 19% jump from last year. But China's growth is cooling slightly, with November sales increasing by only 3% year-over-year. Even with a local slowdown, Chinese manufacturers are making a major global impact.

BYD set a new company record by exporting 131,935 units, easily surpassing its previous record of around 90,000 set in June. This massive export volume shows the growing global reach of Chinese EVs, with BYD sales in Europe quadrupling to about 200,000 units in 2025. The company also doubled sales in Southeast Asia and saw sales rise by more than 50% in South America.

Unfortunately, North American electric car market stayed sluggish. With 1.7 million units sold year-to-date, the region is actually down by 1% compared to 2024. The slowdown directly follows the ending of the US federal tax credit on September 30, 2025. The market saw a sharp sales drop in October. Sales did increase month-over-month in November - with brands like Kia seeing a 30% rise and Hyundai a 20% jump - but the overall figures are still significantly lower than when the tax credit was in place.

Adding a major layer of complexity to the US transition is a recent policy change. In early December, new rules officially "reset" the US Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Under the new standard, car manufacturers only need to hit a fleetwide average of approximately 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031. This is a huge pullback from the roughly 50.4 miles per gallon target set by the previous rule.

Since manufacturers can meet this lower goal simply by improving traditional gasoline vehicles, the pressure to develop and sell battery-electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids is gone. Industry analysts expect these relaxed standards to slow the shift to electrification in the US, a concern underlined by investments like the $13 billion Stellantis is dedicating to expanding its internal combustion engine production by 50% in the US.

The 2025 sales numbers paint a clear picture of an EV market that is resilient worldwide, yet highly dependent on government support. Europe and the Rest of the World surge forward with 33% and 48% growth, respectively, but the North American market is hitting the brakes. The data shows that sustained policy incentives and model availability are the critical engine for EV growth, but when that support is removed or softened, the transition stalls.

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