Europe EV Sales Surge 36% as North America Plunges 33% — SkimNews
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- Europe led global EV growth with sales of ~380,000 vehicles in August, up 36% year-over-year despite a 15% monthly dip during the summer slowdown; cumulative Jan-Aug sales hit 3.3 million, up 29% YoY.
- France hit a record 41% EV market share in August, while Spain completed the first full month of its €400 million ($465 million) Auto+ incentive program offering up to €4,500 per new electric passenger car.
- North America saw EV sales fall 33% YoY to ~140,000 units in August, leaving the region down 21% for the year at ~1 million; automakers have responded to the post-tax-credit policy environment by canceling new EV models.
- China's headline EV decline of 11% YoY conceals a healthier picture for pure BEVs, which edged up 0.8% YoY; new energy vehicles expanded to 65.2% of China's passenger car market, up from 55.2% a year earlier.
- China's NEV exports jumped over 150% YoY to a record ~518,000 units in August, pushing eight-month exports above 3.3 million as domestic automakers lean on overseas markets.
- Canada used 15,603 of its 24,500 lower-tariff permits (about 64%) for Chinese-built EVs by August 31, with unused permits rolling over into a new six-month quota exceeding 33,000.
- Rest-of-world EV sales nearly doubled, rising 97% YoY to ~290,000 in August and 2 million year-to-date—growth that, alongside Europe, kept global sales in positive territory.
Why it matters: The expiration of the US federal EV tax credit on September 30, 2025 is now visibly reshaping the global map: Europe's incentive-fueled surge and a near-doubling of sales across smaller markets are offsetting a 33% North American collapse tied directly to policy, not demand fundamentals. With US automakers canceling EV models and supply tightening, the September YoY comparison will look worse before it gets better.
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