Europe Drives Global EV Growth as North America Retreats

Global electric vehicle sales rose 9 percent in July compared with the same month last year, reaching roughly 1.85 million battery-electric and plug-in hybrid units, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Year-to-date volumes have now crossed 11.5 million vehicles worldwide.

Europe accounted for much of the momentum, with 450,000 units sold across the region. France led with an 81 percent jump, while Germany added 46 percent and the United Kingdom climbed 43 percent. Benchmark links the surge to government subsidy programmes that have been restored or expanded across European markets over the past 18 months. Spain reinforced that trend in early August, launching a new incentive scheme offering buyers up to €4,500.

China’s headline figure showed a 5 percent decline to 980,000 units, but the underlying mix shifted notably: pure battery-electric registrations grew 6 percent while plug-in hybrids and conventional vehicles fell. New-energy vehicles now represent 65.1 percent of all retail car sales in the country.

North America moved in the opposite direction entirely, sliding 27 percent to 140,000 units for the month. Through the first seven months of the year the region sold roughly 900,000 electric vehicles — an 18 percent drop against the comparable prior-year period. Analysts point to the rollback of federal EV incentives, a less supportive regulatory climate, and an unusually strong comparison period from last summer as the combined drag on demand.

Source: Electrek