Rho Motion: More Than 1.7M EVs Sold Globally in October, Overtaking the Previous Monthly Record; China Growth Leader

EV research-house Rho Motion reported that more than 1.7 million EVs were sold over the month of October—overtaking the previous record, set in September 2023, by 50,000 units. The Chinese EV market has once again set another monthly record with 1.2 million units sold, growing by 6% compared to the previous month and by more than 50% compared to October 2023. Year-to-date, the Chinese EV market has grown by 38%, and the global market at 24%.

Snapshot electric vehicle sales in January - October 2024 vs Jan-Oct 2023:

Global: 13.3 million, +24%

China: 8.4 million, +38%

EU & EFTA & UK: 2.5 million, -3%

US & Canada: 1.4 million, +9%

Rest of World: 1.0 million, +27%

Just over 260,000 EVs were sold in the EU, EFTA, and UK in October 2024, growing by 1% year-on-year but falling by 14% month-on-month. The drop on a monthly basis is mostly due to falling automotive sales in the UK following high seasonal sales in September because of new registration plates. The German market has grown by 12% month-on-month and by 3% year-on-year; however, year-to-date (YTD), the EV market is still down by 18%. Several markets continue to be strong, with the UK growing by 14% YTD, the Portuguese market by 11%, and the Danish market by 31%.

Volkswagen (VW), Europe’s largest automaker, announced its intentions to close three German plants to cut costs, coming against the backdrop of VW scaling back its cell production plans. Nissan also plans to cut jobs, as part of an effort to trim costs, at currently.

Undisclosed locations. Svolt announced it will abandon plans to build two factories in Europe and will also shut down its European operations entirely by January 2025, describing it as a strategic decision driven by the underperformance of the European EV market. Other Chinese OEMs are still planning to build out EV production in Europe, BYD for example.

There were record monthly sales for both BEVs and PHEVs in China in October 2024. BYD had another unprecedented month, reporting more than 500,000 total sales in October 2024, 80,000 higher than the previous month, owing mostly to the growth in its PHEV sales. BYD’s export figures remain similar to the previous three months with just over 30,000 units sold. The Chinese EV market shows no signs of slowing down as it enters the final two strong automotive sales months of the year.

The US & Canada market continues to grow at a steady pace of 9% YTD. General Motors has now produced more than 120,000 units of the Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Honda Prologue, at its facility in Mexico this year, led by more than 50,000 units of the Equinox.