Electric Vehicle Sales Surged Globally in November

A UK-based firm, Rho Motion, says November 2024 was a record month for electric vehicle sales globally. Evidently 1.8 million zero-emissions vehicles found new homes. Sales were up in most markets, with a few notable exceptions.

That November figure is 100,000 higher than the October 2024 tally, the previous record.

Compared with January to November of 2023, this year saw global EV sales jump by 25 per cent to 15.2 million. That’s mainly led by China, the biggest market in the world for EVs. Sales increased year to date by 40 per cent to 9.7 million.

EV sales in North America also increased to 1.6 million, up 10 per cent, whereas in the rest of the world they rose by 25 per cent.

Not all areas registered growth however. Even though 2.7 million EVs were sold in Europe YTD, that represented a three per cent drop compared with 2023.

This is the result of slowing sales in the major EU markets like Germany, France and Italy. In the UK, however, its zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate saw the EV market grow by 17 per cent in 2024.

EV brands cashing in on strong sales growth in China include Geely, Tesla and Changan. China also saw a doubling of plug-in hybrid EV sales (PHEVs) on a year-on-year basis, according to Rho Motion figures.

For the US and Canada, Rho Motion expects continued strong EV growth towards the end of the year. Consumers are bringing forward their purchases to take advantage of the Biden administration’s tax credit. President-elect Donald Trump intends to scrap that.

MIA numbers here show EV and PHEV sales are down significantly year-on-year. And by significantly, we mean a drop from almost 18,000 in the 2023 period to 5500 this year for EVs, and from 8000 to 2730 for PHEVs. The huge drops are multifactorial. Blame the economic recession, high interest rates and the coalition job axe, along with the removal of the Clean Car Discount, implementation of road user charges and, in the latest EV tax, a hike in ACC levies.