Global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars increased by 30.5% annually in September, according to market research firm Rho Motion, as China topped record August sales and Europe started to see growth again. Data manager Charles Lester told Reuters that the US market has been rising gradually ahead of the election which makes it challenging to forecast future trends in the nation.
Despite import taxes of up to 45% and a decline in the market for electric vehicles worldwide, Chinese automakers are attempting to increase their sales in the EU. At the Paris auto show, Chinese and European automakers were competing against one other.
September sales of automobiles increased 4.3% to 0.15 million in the US and Canada, whereas they increased 47.9% in China to 1.12 million vehicles. According to Lester, Europe saw a 4.2% increase in EV sales to 0.3 million units, driven by a 24% increase in the UK and increases in Italy, Germany, and Denmark.
Lester stated that sales of BEVs and PHEVs “could be a record every month until the end of the year” in the Chinese market, where the penetration rate of these vehicles is increasing more quickly than some had anticipated.
He went on to say that Germany’s 7% annual growth was “definitely positive news” and that the EU’s intermediate carbon emission reduction targets for the next year will put the bloc’s market to the test.
While Germany agreed in September to tax relief for corporations on their EV sales after concluding a subsidy scheme intended to help speed up the green transition last year, France stated earlier this month that it would be reducing its support for EV buyers.
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