Global Electric Vehicle Sales Decline Again in February

According to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence on Friday, global electric vehicle registrations declined by 11% in February. This was mainly due to China’s sales experiencing the largest drop since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

As governments around the world slow down their policies encouraging electric vehicle purchases, China has ceased subsidies for old car replacements. The electric vehicle purchase tax exemption policy in China expired at the end of last year.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports that in China, the world’s largest EV market, registrations of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (as a proxy for sales) fell 32% year-over-year in February.

This decline aligns with the 34% decrease in total vehicle sales reported by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers for the same month.

Charles Lester, Data Manager at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, said consumers are very sensitive to prices.

In February, global registrations declined for the second consecutive month, falling slightly below 1 million, the lowest level since 2024.

The North American EV market shrank for the fifth consecutive month, dropping 35% to less than 90,000 units, due to the termination of a tax credit program in the U.S. last September and proposals by the Trump administration to further reduce carbon dioxide emission standards.

Trump’s policies, combined with cooling global demand for EVs, have forced automakers most exposed to the U.S. market to write down over $70 billion.

Europe also retreated from its emission targets. In February, EV sales across the European continent grew by 21%, a pace that has not slowed compared to last year.

As Chinese automakers expand their presence in Asian markets, Australia, and Europe, and successfully resist fierce domestic competition, EV registrations in other parts of the world increased by 78%, exceeding 180,000 units.