An almost flat month for electric vehicle sales in China drove a slowdown in global sales of the vehicles in November, with the United States booking a decline after the federal government phased out subsidies.
In Europe, by contrast, EV sales continued growing thanks to the local governments’ unwavering support for transport electrification as expressed by robust financial incentives, Reuters reported, citing the latest car sales figures from transition advocacy and consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
European battery electric—and hybrid—sales have gone up by a third on the year so far in 2025, while U.S. EV sales collapsed as soon as the federal tax incentive was canceled, after a strong jump in the third quarter ahead of the cancellation. Carmakers complained about sharp drops in their EV sales in October, the first post-subsidy month, from a year earlier.
In China, meanwhile, EV sales seem to have flattened, with the November growth at just 3% on the year, which was the weakest since February 2024, Reuters noted in its report. The weakness has accelerated since then, however. A new report on electric vehicle sales for the first week of December showed a 17% annual decline in EV and hybrid sales in China, amid a broader—and deeper—decline in overall car sales. These were down by 32% on the year to 297,000. EV sales totaled 185,000 over the first week of December, including hybrids, which was also a 10% decline on late November, the data also showed.
Still, battery electric vehicles and hybrids accounted for over half of total car sales and on a cumulative 2025 basis, sales were still significantly higher on the year. Total car sales in China have booked a 5% annual increase and EV and hybrid sales are up by 19% on the year.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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