Global electric vehicle (EV) sales rose 21 percent year-on-year in July, the slowest growth since January and down from 25 percent in June, as China’s plug-in hybrid market lost steam, according to market research firm Rho Motion.
China, the world’s largest car market, accounts for more than half of global EV sales—covering both battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in Rho Motion’s data. Reuters reported that overall car sales growth in China slowed last month, with BYD, the world’s biggest EV maker, posting its third consecutive monthly drop in registrations.
Despite the moderation, strong demand in other regions helped offset the slowdown. European sales, buoyed by decarbonisation incentives, saw a sharp increase, while other markets also expanded rapidly.
Rho Motion’s figures show global battery-electric and plug-in hybrid sales reached 1.6 million units in July. China’s EV sales growth, which averaged 36 percent monthly in the first half of the year, slowed to 12 percent in July—around one million units—after some 2025 government subsidy schemes were paused.
By contrast, European sales surged 48 percent to roughly 390,000 units, North American sales rose 10 percent to over 170,000, and sales in the rest of the world jumped 55 percent to more than 140,000 vehicles.
“Despite regional variations, the overall trajectory for EV adoption in 2025 remains strongly upward,” said Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester.
Lester added that Chinese EV sales are expected to rebound from August as new subsidy funds become available, while the U.S. market could see a dip after a planned reduction in federal tax credits for EV purchases and leases at the end of September.
