As China surpassed record August sales and Europe began to experience growth again, global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars surged by 30.5% yearly in September, according to market research firm Rho Motion. It is difficult to predict future patterns in the US market because it has been rising steadily ahead of the election, data manager Charles Lester told Reuters.
Chinese manufacturers are trying to boost their sales in the EU despite import levies of up to 45% and a global downturn in the market for electric vehicles. European and Chinese automakers were pitted against one another at the Paris auto show.
Car sales in the US and Canada increased 4.3% to 0.15 million in September, while they increased 47.9% to 1.12 million in China. A 24% increase in the UK and gains in Italy, Germany, and Denmark propelled Europe’s EV sales to 0.3 million units, according to Lester.
Lester said that in the Chinese market, where the penetration rate of these cars is rising faster than some had predicted, sales of BEVs and PHEVs “could be a record every month until the end of the year.”
He continued by saying that the EU’s intermediate carbon emission reduction targets for the upcoming year will test the bloc’s market and that Germany’s 7% yearly growth was “definitely positive news.”
While France said earlier this month that it will be decreasing its assistance for EV buyers, Germany agreed in September to tax relief for firms on their EV sales after finalizing a subsidy package aimed to help speed up the green transition last year.
