According to the International Energy Agency, sales of electric vehicles are rising faster than at any previous time. By 2025, they believe more than a quarter of cars sold worldwide will be electric. The increased adoption of electric cars is responsible for this significant increase, despite economic problems and a slowdown in subsidies in major areas.
The IEA Global EV Outlook predicts that 20 million electric cars will be sold throughout the world in 2025, a rise from 17 million in 2024. Such growth indicates that EVs will be more than a quarter of the world’s car sales, showing how fast both consumers and the market are changing.
In the first three months of 2025, EV sales were up 35% from the same time last year, thanks to increasing affordability, expanded choice of vehicles, and greater demand across more countries. The IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said, “The market is seeing record sales, which have big effects on the international auto industry.” As we move past this decade, electric vehicles might make up as much as 40 percent of cars sold by the end.
China Is Ahead, While Emerging Markets Are Gaining Speed
Electric vehicle sales around the world were mainly driven by China, which claimed more than half of all sales in the year 2024. China sold more than 11 million electric cars in 2022 than the entire world total from the previous year. With Tesla Model Y is the most popular in China, accounting for more than 48,000 units sold in just March alone.
The report also points out that Asia and Latin America experienced very fast growth, with electric car sales up by over 60% last year. These countries are serving as new centers of growth for electric vehicles as prices are dropping, and most of the cars arriving are from China.
The US saw more even growth, with a rise of 10% in electric car sales that brought EVs up to about 10% of the total sales. During that same time, Europe’s economy stalled out, since subsidies and other government measures dropped. Nonetheless, electric vehicles make up around 20% of European cars being sold this year. With BYD dominating the EV market in the EU.
Affordability and Operating Costs Fuel Adoption
The EV boom is largely fueled by the fact that owning an electric car has become more affordable. Internationally, the average price for battery electric vehicles decreased in 2024 due to stronger competition and cheaper batteries.
The cost of electric cars is now lower in China than that of gasoline vehicles, making up two-thirds of all sales without counting subsidies. Unlike Germany and the U.S., buying an electric vehicle in China costs just as much as or slightly less than its conventional counterpart.
At the same time, EVs generally work out to be cheaper to operate. Even at $40 per barrel for oil, the cost of charging an electric car at home in Europe would be nearly half the price of petrol for a gasoline car. Because of this, lower operating costs continue to motivate consumers.
The role of electric trucks is highlighted in the latest IEA report. In 2024, about 80% more electric trucks were sold around the world, which made up nearly 2% of the total trucks sold that year. At present, China is ahead once more, and electric trucks are now much more affordable to run than diesel trucks, as their costs are far lower.
