The latest ‘Electromobility Report’ from the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, shows that e-mobility worldwide has been experiencing a significant upswing so far this year.
In the world regions most important to the automotive industry – China, Europe, and the USA – approximately 12.8 million highly electrified vehicles were sold from the beginning of January through the end of September. In addition to battery-electric cars, this also includes plug-in hybrids. This represents a growth of around 30% compared to the same period last year.
China driven
This development continues to be driven primarily by the Chinese market. In the first three quarters, a total of 8.89 million so-called NEVs, short for New Energy Vehicles, were registered in the People’s Republic.
This category includes pure electric vehicles, electric vehicles with range extenders, and plug-in hybrid cars. BEVs clearly dominate with 5.45 million units. In second place, with 3.44 million units, are plug-in hybrids, which also include REEVs (Range Extended Electric Vehicles).
Overall, NEVs achieved a market share of 52.4% during this period, compared to 45.3% in the first three quarters of last year. The development of pure electric cars is particularly encouraging, with growth of 32% and a market share of 32.1%, separate from plug-in hybrids.
In the same period last year, the figure was 26.2%. Externally chargeable hybrids, on the other hand, are growing at a much slower pace, with an increase of only 14%.
Pure BEVs are therefore playing an increasingly dominant role in China. In addition, most of these are already being produced by domestic manufacturers. The government’s decision to remove electric cars from the list of strategic industries and thus no longer promote them as strongly, therefore, makes perfect sense.
A certain degree of consolidation is already evident in the local market: 70% of new registrations are accounted for by the top 10 car companies, led by BYD with a 14.2% market share.
In contrast, 93 of the 169 car manufacturers active in China have a market share of less than 0.1%, which means they are likely to sink into insignificance in the long term.
Although the Volkswagen Group still ranks second in total sales in China, the German automaker’s electric models are not particularly popular there.
While battery-electric drives are clearly on the rise, the Wolfsburg-based company, including the Group brands available in China, has seen a 51.3% decline in NEV registrations.
While BYD has a market share of 28.7 % in this NEV category and Geely has 12.3%, the former number one in China, Volkswagen Group, is far behind with 0.9%.
Europe is a good pupil
While the overall European market is stagnating, strong growth in electrification is also evident. In the first nine months of this year, 2.72 million highly electrified passenger cars (BEVs and PHEVs) were newly registered across all countries.
Compared to the first quarter of 2024, this represents an increase of 27.7% The market share of pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids is 27.4%. This means that Europe remains the second-largest market for BEVs and PHEVs after China.
Even if plug-in hybrids are excluded, the picture for e-mobility in Europe is encouraging. Vehicles with purely electric drives recorded a 24% growth rate in the first three quarters of the year. However, BEV sales are anything but evenly distributed across the continent.
While battery electric vehicles account for very high shares —well above the 30% mark —in the Scandinavian countries, this type of drive is already well established in Central and Western Europe, but it still has a niche existence in other regions, such as Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
The three largest European markets also present a far from homogeneous picture. In France, new EV registrations fell by 9% from 316,000 in 2022 to 289,000 in 2023. However, this is mainly due to the declining popularity of plug-in hybrids, with sales of purely electric vehicles remaining stable at 216,000.
The BEV market share is 24%, down from 25% in the first nine months of 2024. One reason for the slowdown is that the French government has tightened the criteria for subsidies.
In the UK, on the other hand, e-mobility is on the rise. A total of around 522,000 BEVs and PHEVs were registered, representing an increase of around 32% over the previous year. The market share of highly electrified vehicles thus rose from 26 to 33%.
Pure electric cars account for the lion’s share of this, with 349,414 units. In 2024, only 269,931 new electric vehicles were registered on the island in the first nine months. This growth is mainly driven by a significantly expanded range of models, lower prices, and various government and municipal support measures relating to charging infrastructure and vehicle fleets.
After a weak 2024, e-mobility is achieving the strongest growth of the three countries in Germany this year. A total of 600,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids were registered, an increase of 46.6 %.
The market share of the two electrified drive types is 28%, compared to 19% in the same period last year. Pure BEVs accounted for 382,000 units. CAM attributes the positive figures on the domestic market primarily to manufacturers’ electric model offensives, shorter delivery times, and increasing acceptance of this drive type in company fleets.
“In Europe, despite strong growth in 2025, the ramp-up of electric mobility is in a critical transition phase with uneven development,” says Stefan Bratzel, founder and director of CAM.
“The current discussion surrounding the increasingly ideological debate about a possible softening of the so-called ‘2035 combustion engine ban’ is causing considerable uncertainty among consumers and is hampering the rapid market ramp-up necessary for scaling,” he added.
US much slower
The renaissance of the electric car was kicked off by Tesla in the US, but growth there this year has been modest compared with Europe and China.
New registrations of electric cars and plug-in hybrids rose by only 8% to 1.22 million vehicles between the beginning of January and the end of September. This put the market share at 10% in the first three quarters. In the same period last year, it was 9.7%. For purely electric vehicles, it rose from 8.0 to 8.2%.
After the tax credits for electric cars expired on 1 October, there was another rush for battery-powered vehicles in September. A decline is expected in the fourth quarter due to significantly worsened market conditions and the Trump administration’s hostility toward EVs.
Global outlook
Not only in China itself, but also globally, the BEV market is shifting in favor of Chinese manufacturers. BYD had already overtaken Tesla as the world’s largest electric car manufacturer. In the first three quarters, the group increased its deliveries by 37% to 1.61 million vehicles.
The share of BEVs in total sales grew from 43 to 56%. Geely even increased by almost 90% to 943,000 BEVs. Tesla, on the other hand, lost ground slightly, with deliveries falling by 5.9% to 1.22 million vehicles.
The outlook for German carmakers is somewhat improving. The Volkswagen Group increased its worldwide electric car sales by 42% to 717,500 vehicles, mainly driven by strong demand in Europe.
BMW’s BEV business grew moderately by 10% to 323,000 cars, while Mercedes-Benz remained slightly below the previous year’s level with 118,000 units, representing a 1% decline.
