Global Roads Getting More Electric
China easily reigns in the segment, but European countries’ adoption rates are growing. The U.S., probably due to market size, has the second biggest EV fleet.
The ZSW report shows that the U.S. EV fleet is second to China's at more than seven million units.
Pexels/Kindel Media
It’s no surprise that China dominates the electric-vehicle market, but a new report on 2025 registrations shows just how far it’s in the lead in a world headed down the alternative-fuel road.
A report by the Germany-based Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg, or ZSW, shows new EV registrations increased 23% globally last year to 21 million units. China had more than half of EV sales at 14 million.
ZSW, a nonprofit organization that transforms renewable-energy research findings into technology for various industries, focused its 2025 study on purely electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and extended-range models.
The EVs on today’s roads around the world ended the year at more than 74 million units, ZSW reported, and about 60% of those are in China, whose automakers command the segment worldwide.
The U.S., meanwhile, was a distant second with seven million EV units. Last year, U.S. consumers added to the total when they went on an EV shopping spree after the second Trump administration announced its intent to eliminate EV adoption incentives. A consumer tax break for purchases and leases expired on Oct. 1.
ZSW said Germany's automakers, despite China’s EV dominance, are holding their own. The country's new-EV market rose 50% last year to a record of nearly 857,000 units as automakers ramped up incentives and introduced more models. BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen all ranked in the top 10 EV manufacturers globally.
Spain and Denmark also saw high EV sales growth rates last year, at 50% and 42%, respectively. The three European growth leaders have a ways to go to catch up with markets where EVs rule the roads: 97% of Norway’s new-vehicle sales are electric, followed by Denmark and Sweden at two-thirds.
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