China Powers globally in EVs despite subsidy cuts and tariffs on the road ahead
China Powers globally in EVs despite subsidy cuts and tariffs on the road ahead
This is a 29 per cent increase over the same time last year, with China at the front of this worldwide shift towards cleaner mobility. Curiously, China remains the world's biggest EV market by far.
Chinese buyers purchased an estimated 24 lakh electric vehicles during the opening three months of 2025 alone, a 36 per cent surge in comparison with Q1 2024. Various factors, including a thriving manufacturing ecosystem, incentives for consumers, and heavy investment in charging infrastructure, have placed China well ahead of other markets.
Europe kept pace strongly with 900,000 EV sales in Q1, a year-on-year growth of 22 per cent. Battery electric vehicle sales rose 27 per cent, with plug-in hybrids at 10 per cent slower growth. Italy headed the European charge with a 64 per cent surge in EV sales, followed by Germany and the UK at 34 per cent and 42 per cent increase, respectively.
North America's growth was softer with a level of about 5,00,000 vehicles electrified being sold during the first quarter, up by 16 percent year-on-year from last year. The United States recorded a level of around 3,00,000 BEV sales, up 11.4 percent year-to-year.
Rumors of emerging new tariff policies during the Trump era may turn these numbers, as well as these growth opportunities, on their heads, especially regarding imported products from Asia as well as Mexico.
There is currently an excess of global EV industry activity, but it remains unclear for how much longer it can continue. The new US tariff regime will have the effect of raising the cost of imported EVs as well as ICE cars. Together with this, the scrapping of EV incentives in countries like France has already resulted in a fall in sales of EVs there of as much as 18 per cent.
Even with policy uncertainties, subsidy cuts, and impending tariffs, the international electric vehicle market is having a resurgent year in 2025, with China boldly taking the lead. Its initial leadership is a result of a blend of planning, extensive infrastructure, and consumer demand. Although Europe and North America maintain encouraging growth, changing government policies may either reinforce or weaken this momentum. As the sector weathers these challenges, the long-term direction of EV uptake will be determined by how governments weigh sustainability objectives against economic and trade issues. One certainty: the EV revolution is here to stay—it's just reaching higher gear.
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