Global EV sales reach 18.5 million units, growing by 21% YTD in November 2025

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.0 million electric vehicles were sold globally in November 2025.

Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented:

“Global EV sales reached 2.0 million units in November 2025, bringing cumulative sales to 18.5 million year-to-date, up 21% on 2024. Europe led growth, rising 36% year-on-year in November, driven by new incentives and wider model availability. France and Italy both saw renewed momentum from national support, while the UK expanded its subsidy list to support further uptake. In contrast, North America remains subdued following the end of US tax credits, whereas China continues to dominate with 11.6 million units sold year-to-date, up 19%. Record overseas sales from BYD reflect the growing global reach of Chinese EV makers. Overall, EV demand remains resilient, supported by expanding model ranges and sustained policy incentives worldwide.”

Snapshot electric vehicle sales in YTD 2025 (Jan-Nov 2025) vs YTD 2024 (Jan-Nov 2024), YTD %

Europe

The European market grew by 36% y-o-y in November 2025, with 35% growth in BEVs and 39% in PHEVs. This brings YTD sales in Europe to 3.8 million units, growing by 33% compared to YTD 2024.

The French market is now up YTD for the first month this year, in November 2025, by 1%. The French market had been down throughout 2025 due to a cut in subsidies earlier in the year. The sales increase has been led by major OEMs, such as VW Group and Renault, alongside a wider range of models. The market has also been boosted from the nation’s ‘leasing social’ program that targets lower-income households to transition to EVs.

The Italian market had record EV sales of just under 25,000 in November after it launched a new incentive program aimed at replacing older internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The program allocated EUR597.3 million (~USD700 million) in funding and plans to replace around 39,000 ICE cars.

The UK added five more EV models that qualify for the full GBP3,750 (~USD4,400) subsidy, including the Nissan Leaf (manufactured in Sunderland, UK, with deliveries set to begin in early 2026), the MINI Countryman, Renault 4, Renault 5, and the Alpine A290.

North America

Overall EV sales in the US increased m-o-m in November 2025, following a sharp drop in sales in October due to the Tax Credit ending on 30 September 2025. BEV sales increased m-o-m from Kia (30%), Hyundai (20%), Honda (11%), Subaru (232 Solterra sales vs 13), but figures are still significantly lower than when the Tax Credit was in place.

In early December, Donald J. Trump formally “reset” the U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Under the new rule, manufacturers will only need to meet a fleetwide average of ~34.5 mpg by 2031, a big reduction compared to the roughly 50.4 mpg target under the previous rule. These rules allow OEMs to meet these standards through ICE vehicles and put less pressure on OEMs to have to transition to BEVs or PHEVs. These relaxed standards will slow the transition to electrification in the US, as seen by ICE-focused investments, such as Stellantis’ USD13 billion investment, which aims to expand production by 50% in the US.

China

Growth in EV sales continues to slow in China as the market grew by 3% y-o-y and 4% m-o-m in November 2025. The Chinese market remains up YTD with 19% growth and 11.6 million units sold so far this year.

BYD set a record for reported EV exports of 131,935 units, eclipsing the previous record of ~90,000 set in June 2025. Sales of BYD models in Europe have increased by over four times in 2025, with ~200,000 units sold, doubled in Southeast Asia, and risen by more than 50% in South America.

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