EV Sales Skyrocket In 2025 With 29% Growth

Global EV sales are still climbing fast, but a new wave of trade tensions—especially out of the United States—could make the ride bumpier than expected.

March 2025 marked another strong month for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales, with global numbers jumping 29% year-on-year. According to data from Rho Motion, 1.7 million EVs were sold in March alone, bringing the total for the first quarter to 4.1 million. And much of that momentum came from China and Europe, where government policies and consumer appetite continue to push the shift away from combustion engines.

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But while EV growth in Asia and Europe remains on track, North America is heading into politically charged territory. And with Trump-era tariffs re-entering the conversation, EV makers could be forced into hard choices that affect everything from production locations to sticker prices.

China Still Sets the Pace

It’s no surprise that China continues to lead the global EV race. Sales surged 36% in March, reaching nearly 1 million units—a number that was once considered a year-end milestone, now being hit monthly.

China’s government has also been smart about staving off market slowdowns. Earlier this year, they extended their auto trade-in subsidy program into 2025. That move is doing double duty: keeping EV sales healthy and giving a shot in the arm to the broader economy.

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Despite ongoing trade tensions with the US, Chinese EV exports to America are minimal. Tesla’s US-made Model S and Model X are among the few American EVs shipped to China, and thanks to counter-tariffs, those prices could nearly double—though in reality, sales volumes for these models in China are already very low.

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Europe Powers On, But France Hits a Speed Bump

Over in Europe, electric vehicle registrations rose 24% in March compared to the same time last year. Countries like Germany, the UK, and Italy are leading the charge thanks to clear emissions targets and EV-friendly regulations. The UK had a record-breaking month, with over 100,000 EVs sold—helped along by their twice-yearly number plate change, which tends to boost March and September sales.

But not everyone in Europe is riding the same wave. In France, EV sales are down sharply—18% lower year-on-year for the first quarter. That dip is directly tied to the government scaling back incentives, which hit plug-in hybrids especially hard. While BEVs in France are down 5%, plug-in hybrids have plummeted 47%.

Still, Europe as a whole has seen 22% growth year-to-date, with battery-electric vehicles up 27%. That’s strong momentum, even if it’s not evenly distributed across the board.

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North America Faces a New Reality

The story in North America is more complicated. While EV sales were up 12% in March and 16% for the quarter, the political landscape is shifting fast—and not in a way that helps electrification.

President Trump’s administration has introduced sweeping new tariffs: 25% on auto imports from Canada and Mexico in February, and then another 25% slapped on imports from all other countries in March. That means even automakers operating under the USMCA agreement will have to rethink their supply chains, as the tariffs now apply to the non-US content in their vehicles.

That’s a big deal for the EV sector, because roughly 39% of EVs sold in the US are imported. On top of that, a quarter of American-made EVs still rely on imported batteries. For context, many affordable EVs sold in the US are built in Japan, Korea, or Mexico. If those price tags rise due to tariffs, you can bet sales will take a hit.

And while some automakers may absorb the extra cost to stay competitive, there’s only so much wiggle room. The price gap between internal combustion and electric cars is already tight in many cases, and further cost pressures could scare off buyers right when the market needs them most.