Global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose by 21% on an annual basis in July, driven mainly by China’s strongest growth this year and despite dropping demand in Europe, market research firm Rho Motion said Monday.
At the same time, the sales of these vehicles in Türkiye showed twice the world’s average increase over the same period, according to industry data.
Accordingly, the sales of electric and hybrid cars in the country rose 42% year-over-year to hit 21,541 in July, compared to 15,168 units sold in the same month last year, the data from the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD) showed.
Moreover, the data shared by U.K.-based Rho Motion showed that European sales were down last month as the bloc introduced tariffs on vehicles from China.
In the European Union, MG Motor, owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corp, expects to be hit hardest by provisional tariffs imposed on EVs imported from China, Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester told Reuters.
Lester said the tariffs’ impact should be smaller on Tesla, which can produce in its Berlin factory, and Chinese EV giant BYD, whose presence in Europe remains small.
EVs – whether fully electric (BEV) or plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) – sold worldwide were at 1.35 million in July, of which 0.88 million were in China, where they were up 31% year-over-year, the data showed.
PHEVs sold in China in the first seven months of 2024 were up 70% from last year.
BYD, China’s and the world’s biggest EV maker, reported increases of 13% and 44% in its global BEV and PHEV sales, respectively, during the same period.
Last week, industry data showed half of all vehicles sold in China in July were either new pure electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids, a milestone that underscores how far the world’s biggest auto market has leaped ahead of Western counterparts in EV adoption.
Sales of so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs) jumped 37% last month from the same period a year earlier, accounting for a record 50.7% of car sales, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.
Europe sales down
In Europe, monthly sales were down 7.8% in July, and year-to-date figures align with 2023. In the seven months to July, they dropped by 12% in Germany, the EU’s biggest EV market.
EV sales were up 7.1% in July in the United States and Canada.
“BYD continued to have record sales of plug-in hybrids again this month, which is a key contributor as they have a large volume of vehicles that they sell,” Lester told Reuters.
Lester said range extender vehicles, battery-powered hybrid cars that recharge with an onboard generator, also sell in large numbers.
In July, the European Union imposed provisional tariffs on imports of electric cars made in China. BYD faces duties of 17.4%, Geely 19.9% and SAIC 37.6%, the EU said.
