Global electric vehicle sales are on track to reach a significant milestone in 2025, with more than one in four new cars sold worldwide expected to be electric, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest projections. By 2030, the figure is forecast to climb to 40 percent. The IEA’s annual Global EV Outlook highlights stark regional contrasts, with China maintaining an undisputed lead.
China’s new EV sales surged 40 percent year-on-year in 2024, with electric models making up roughly half of all new cars sold domestically. That equated to 11 million units out of the 17 million EVs sold globally. Europe’s market showed little growth, while the United States recorded a modest 10 percent increase. The report attributes China’s dominance to decades of sustained investment, strategic industrial policy, and affordability, factors that have also boosted sales in emerging economies across Asia, Latin America, and Africa by 60 percent.
In Canada, EV market share rose from 13 percent in 2023 to 17 percent in 2024, with 252,000 fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles sold. However, domestic manufacturing output remains limited at 25,000 units annually. Stellantis plans to produce the Dodge Charger Daytona EV in Windsor, Ontario, marking a rare large-scale manufacturing initiative.
Industry voices emphasize the irreversible nature of the transition. “We’re not going back, no matter what some people might say or think. We are moving in the transition to EVs,” said Daniel Breton, president of Electric Mobility Canada. Yet challenges persist in North America and Europe, where higher vehicle prices and reduced government rebates have slowed momentum.
James Jackson, a research fellow at the University of Manchester, noted that China’s EV push is rooted in both economic and symbolic considerations. “If you go and buy a BYD, you are then testament to superior Chinese manufacturing, and you will therefore by extension be symbolizing Chinese development, that it is not this import-dependent, predominantly agriculture-based economy,” he said. He described China as “the ascendant power now,” underscoring how the automotive sector reinforces national industrial identity.
By the early 2000s, China’s central and provincial governments had begun pouring subsidies into EV startups. Many failed, but the intense competition drove down costs and fostered the rise of companies like BYD, now the world’s largest EV maker. In 2024, two-thirds of new EVs sold in China were cheaper than comparable gasoline models. BYD’s vertically integrated model — encompassing battery production, mineral sourcing, and consumer financing — has been a critical advantage. The company even operates its own shipping fleet to support exports, with entry-level models priced as low as $11,000.
China accounts for 70 percent of global EV production, a figure that reflects its dominance in both manufacturing and supply chains. This leadership poses strategic questions for other nations. Canada, for instance, has imposed 25 percent tariffs on certain U.S.-made vehicles and parts in response to trade threats from President Donald Trump. Electric Mobility Canada’s analysis shows most EVs sold domestically are sourced from Europe and South Korea, limiting the impact of these countermeasures.
Hongyu Xiao, transportation analyst at the Pembina Institute, stressed the climate benefits of EV adoption in Canada, where electricity generation relies heavily on nuclear, hydro, and renewables. “The climate benefits of the EV are in fact even more pronounced [in Canada] because we are not burning coal or a lot of gas to power the EV,” he said. Xiao urged the restoration of federal purchase incentives, previously offering up to $5,000 per vehicle, and pointed to Canada’s reserves of critical battery minerals as a potential draw for manufacturers.
Jackson suggested that legacy automakers will need to adapt to a future in which China leads the industry. “There will still be Volkswagen and Ford and Peugeot in the next 20, 30, maybe 50 years. But I think they’ll be operating at a completely different scale in terms of how much cars they’re producing,” he said.