EV Market Shows Uptick Globally Despite Slow Adoption in US, Data Shows

The Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) recently released data highlighting an uptick in the EV market, with over 74 million electric cars on the roads globally.

 

A total of 21.4 million electric vehicles were newly registered worldwide in 2025, according to the German non-profit research institute. It represents a 23% increase compared to the previous year, with China reportedly accounting for 14 million of those new global registrations.

 

The research group conducted its survey covering battery-electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and vehicles with range extenders. About 60% (approximately 44 million) of the global total registered EVs by the end of 2025 were in China, as the U.S., a distant second, accounted for 7.1 million. Germany was listed third with 3.2 million electric vehicles.

 

With the exception of China, ZSW says that the highest growth rates came from smaller markets in places like Spain, up 50% in newly registered EVs (232,000), and Denmark, up 42% (adding 206,600 EVs).

 

New EV registrations reportedly were down in the U.S. amid the expiration of incentivized tax credits for the purchase or leasing of electric vehicles in September 2025. Chinese manufacturers have reportedly led the domestic market.

 

Research supports, however, that Europe's new EV registrations have grown after being stagnant the previous year (2024). About 3 million electric vehicles in the EU were newly registered, securing a spot behind China in 2025, according to that statistic.

 

The global discussion around electric vehicles has been a solution to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere, produced by burning fossil fuels such as gas refined from oil. Contrary to these greenhouse (GHG) gases, EVs typically have a smaller carbon footprint, even when accounting for the electricity used for charging, and are considered more efficient regarding energy use, according to experts.

 

But the current U.S. administration views that the transitional efforts to increase EV production has hurt the U.S. auto industry by shifting away from the oil-and-gas industry. One metric the U.S. Department of Transportation has focused on has been the decrease in affordability for the average American.

 

 

However, a research group at Harvard University in 2025 highlighted that eliminating previously offered EV tax credits could increase emissions by 20.3 million metric tons (MMT) in 2023. Eliminating all the policies could raise emissions by a total of 44.1 MMT, according to the Harvard research division.

 

Andreas Püttner, project manager in the systems analysis department at ZSW, stated that recent developments in fuel prices have shown that countries with a high percentage of electric vehicles are more resilient than countries with a low share.

 

“Owners of electric cars are not dependent on fossil fuels and are therefore better protected against extreme price spikes, which can ease social and economic burdens in times of crisis," Püttner said. “An accelerated expansion of renewable energies for electric vehicles not only reduces dependency on price fluctuations of fossil fuels, but also intensifies climate protection in the transport sector."