Global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars reached a third consecutive record high in November, up 32% year over year, according to statistics from market research firm Rho Motion. China continued to drive sales growth, accounting for almost 70% of all EV sales during the month, while European registrations saw a modest decline.
Growing demand and production in China are putting EV sectors elsewhere in jeopardy, which is causing the market for EVs to change quickly. For instance, Europe faces issues with rising production costs, new pollution regulations, and heightened competition. Rising trade tensions, CO2 restrictions, and the removal of incentives in some countries, according to European and American automakers, affect prices and put thousands of jobs at risk.
Global sales of EVs, including fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars, rose 32.3% to 1.83 million in November, according to Rho Motion data. China had a 50% increase in car sales, with 1.27 million sold.
EV sales in the US and Canada increased 16.8% to 0.17 million, while EV sales in Europe were down slightly from the previous year but up 7.7% from October.
“China certainly is in line with expectations,” said Charles Lester, data manager at Rho Motion, who also noted that government subsidies boosted EV sales, according to Reuters.
“For the past few months, penetration has been at or around 50%.”
In November, China’s overall car sales climbed 16.6%, the most since January, and domestic leader BYD is predicted to beat Ford and Honda as well as its global yearly sales objective.
