Europe is the slowest region of growth for electric vehicle (EV) sales so far this year, Rho Motion, the leading research house focused on the electric vehicle market, revealed today in their half yearly update.
Just under seven million electric vehicles have been sold globally in the passenger car and light-duty vehicle market in the first half of 2024, growing by 20% compared to the same period in 2023. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) account for 65% of global sales with the remaining 35% plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
Snapshot electric vehicle sales in January – June 2024 vs January – June 2023
- Global: 7.0 million in H1 2024, +20% y-o-y
- China: 4.1 million, +30%
- EU & EFTA & UK: 1.5 million, +1%
- USA & Canada: 0.8 million, +10%
- Rest of World: 0.6 million, +26%
Charles Lester, Lead EV Data Analyst at Rho Motion, said: “The global EV market can take comfort in the 20% growth shown in the first half of the year but the regional disparities are quite remarkable. Europe’s 1% growth compared to China’s 30% needs swift course correction if targets are to be met in the Western region. The other surprising twist of the year is the resurgence of PHEVs which were going out of style towards the end of last year but are now back in favour and accounting for more than one in three electric vehicles sold. The overall picture is that 2024 is not going to see the ambitious growth some may have hoped for the industry and we have lowered our forecasts by 5% to 16.6 million electric cars sold this year.”

EU & EFTA & UK
1.5 million EVs were sold in Europe in the first half of 2024, growing by only 1% compared to the same period in 2023. There have been mixed results in European growth, with sales in Germany falling by 9% in H1 2024 vs H1 2023, but sales in France and the United Kingdom have increased by 8% and 13%, respectively. Italy set a record for EV sales in June 2024 with almost 20,000 EVs sold following the release of its 2024 EV incentives. Despite this, sales in Italy have fallen by 11% this year so far.
China
Chinese EV sales have had the fastest growth compared to the major regions, with 4.1 million units sold so far this year versus 3.2 million over the same period in 2023. The share of PHEVs has made a come back as the market share has risen by 8 percentage points in 2023 to 41% in 2024. This is due to the rising number of PHEVs available from car manufacturers, the growth in Range Extender Electric Vehicle sales (REEVs), and strong growth from BYD who sold a record-high number of electric vehicles in June 2024. Of the 0.34 million passenger cars sold by BYD in June 2024, 195,032 were PHEVs and 145,179 were BEVs, setting another record high for PHEVs.
USA & Canada
The US & Canada EV market whilst off to a shaky start at the beginning of the year showed positive signs in the second quarter of the year. GM increased its BEV sales by 34% in the second quarter vs the first quarter of the year, Ford by 18%, and Honda introduced its Prologue SUV and the Acura ZDX in Q2. General Motors has also been ramping up production in Mexico producing almost 60,000 BEVs in H1 2024. This includes the Chevrolet Blazer, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda Prologue, and most recently the Cadillac Optiq.
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Notes to Editors
Rho Motion was founded in 2018 by Managing Director Adam Panayi and is now the leading global research house for actionable intelligence into electric vehicle and battery markets, associated technologies including motors and systems, charging and infrastructure, energy stationary storage, battery recycling and the wider energy and renewables markets.
Researchers at Rho Motion analyse data from more than 150 countries globally. They are in daily contact with key players in these sectors and hold frequent roundtable discussions to ensure they are ahead of the curve. Between the experts, there is more than 70 years experience, 10 languages spoken and more than 150 reports produced per year.
Find out more about Rho Motion and their upcoming events at: rhomotion.com