Electric car sales, 2010–2025
One in four new cars sold in 2025 was electric
Fifteen years ago, electric cars were a rounding error. Here is how that changed, where it changed fastest, and what buyers are actually choosing.
The S-curve
New technology tends to spread slowly, then all at once. Scroll to see how that played out for electric cars.
Grey lines are other countries. Hover one to see which.
In 2015, fewer than 1 in 100 new cars sold worldwide was electric. By 2025 it was 1 in 4.
Norway went first. Generous tax breaks took it from 22% in 2015 to 97% in 2025. Almost every new car sold there is now electric.
China is the big story. Its share jumped from under 6% in 2020 to 53% in 2025, in the world's largest car market.
Elsewhere the curve is at very different points. The UK is at 35%, the USA has stalled around 10%, and Japan is at just 3%.
Where next? The IEA expects roughly half of new cars sold worldwide to be electric by 2035, depending on government policy.
Show the numbers as a table
| Region | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 0.68% | 4.4% | 25% |
| Norway | 22% | 75% | 97% |
| China | 1.1% | 5.7% | 53% |
| United Kingdom | 1.1% | 11% | 35% |
| Germany | 0.73% | 14% | 30% |
| USA | 0.7% | 2.3% | 10% |
| Japan | 0.58% | 0.77% | 3% |
Battery or plug-in hybrid?
"Electric" covers two kinds of car: fully battery-electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), which also have a petrol engine. Markets differ a lot in which they buy.
In Norway, Vietnam and India almost every electric car is fully battery-electric. Even in China, nearly 4 in 10 are plug-in hybrids, while in Brazil and Mexico plug-in hybrids are the majority.
- Battery-electric (BEV)
- Plug-in hybrid (PHEV, incl. range extenders)
Sorted by battery-electric share. 29 markets shown.
Build your comparison
Price is still the biggest question for most buyers. Pick a market and a body style to compare the list prices of new electric and petrol models.
In Germany, the median electric medium car costs $53k, $9k more than petrol.