Global EV sales 2025: Volume expansion up 20%, but growth paths diverge sharply by regions

The 2025 global EV sales data point to a newly aligned market than even two years earlier. Growth is no longer limited by consumer acceptance or product availability. Instead, it is being rationed by three quantifiable constraints, such as entry price dispersion of more than EUR 20,000 (USD 23,600) between major regions, infrastructure expansion lagging BEV stock growth by a factor of two in key markets, and abrupt regulation withdrawals that can erase a quarter’s worth of demand in a single quarter.

Based on cumulative data through October and full-year estimations, total EV sales in 2025 are estimated at approximately 20-21 million units, up around 20-23 per cent year-on-year compared with 2024, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at the core of the expansion.

BEV sales across the 40 markets tracked by PwC Autofacts expanded 30 per cent year-on-year in 2025, taking full-year BEV volumes to their highest level on record. Fourth-quarter EV sales crossed 4 million units for the first time, up 17 per cent Y-o-Y, and BEVs accounted for more than 20 per cent of all vehicles sold globally for a second consecutive quarter.

PwC’s data show global BEV volumes rose by 30 per cent in 2025 vs 2024 wherein the first three quarters of FY2025 saw BEV sales of 9.53 million, bringing a cumulative close to 14 million sold throughout the calendar year.

However, the sales share between ICEs and EVs differed from region to region. Furthermore, the subcategorised contribution of EV types was also uneven in China, Europe and the US (where it is the largest market for electric vehicles).

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China: BEVs gain share as PHEVs lose relevance

China accounted for the largest share of global EV volumes, with estimates ranging from roughly 12.9 million units in 2025, up 17 per cent from 2024.

BEV sales rose 33 per cent Y-o-Y for the full year, while Q4 volumes increased 16 per cent to 2.87 million units. BEVs captured 36 per cent of all vehicle sales in the quarter, pushing total EV share to 59 per cent.

The composition of growth shifted decisively. PHEV sales declined 11.6 per cent Y-o-Y (2025: 1,515,000 vs 2024: 1339260) in Q4, marking the second consecutive quarterly contraction after several years of expansion. PHEV sales figures stood at 4,895,000 during FY25 as compared to 4,840,000 for FY24, noting a 1.1 per cent growth Y-o-Y Entry-level BEVs priced between EUR 3,600 and EUR 8,100, such as the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV and BYD Seagull, absorbed demand previously served by PHEVs.

The weighted average entry price of China’s top-selling BEVs in 2025 stood near EUR 13,000, less than half the European average and roughly one-third of US levels.