Global EV and plug-in hybrid sales saw a sharp increase by 35% in October with total sales reaching 1.72 million units, the data from market research firm, Rho Motion, showed.
China led the global market, setting a record with 1.2 million units sold, reflecting a 54% surge. The country’s EV market remains strong as it enters the final stretch of the year, a period typically marked by peak sales.
In North America, EV sales grew by 11.4%, reaching 160,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada.
Europe, however, saw the smallest growth, with sales totaling 260,000 vehicles—a modest 0.8% increase compared to last year, but a 14% decline from the previous month. Despite this, it marks the second consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Rho Motion remains optimistic about a strong finish to the year.
Europe faces three key challenges: high production costs, the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), and increasing competition from lower-cost Chinese vehicles. As a result, Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, has announced plans to shut down three factories in Germany.
Charles Lester, data manager at Rho Motion, predicts that automakers may reduce EV prices to meet the EU’s carbon emission targets for next year and avoid penalties, which could further boost sales in the final months of 2024.
