Leading research house Rho Motion has published its monthly global EV sales report, relaying that the industry saw a record amount of purchases in September. It should come as little surprise that EV powerhouse China led the world in the 1.7 million EVs sold around the world last month.

Rho Motion describes itself as a leading researcher in “actionable intelligence into electric vehicle and battery markets, associated technologies including motors and systems, charging and infrastructure, energy stationary storage, battery recycling, and the wider energy and renewables markets.”

The company was founded in 2018, but in 2024, it merged with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, one of the fastest-growing businesses at scale for lithium, critical minerals, and energy transitions. Through its research, Rho Motion publishes a number of reports pertaining to the EV industry and adjacent technologies, including battery demand outlook, EV quarterly outlooks, and monthly sales data reports.

According to a company representative, Rho Motion’s data for its reports is gathered country by country from Governments, car associations, national statistics, OEMs, and trade data, and its team scrutinizes and checks it before compiling everything together to publish to the public.

Most recently, Rho Motion shared its global EV sales report for September 2024, which saw the most sales for any month ever and demonstrated encouraging year-over-year growth for EV adoption. We’ve broken down some key figures of the report for you below.

Global EV sales reach new high and continue to grow YOY

The full global EV sales report for September, available here, shows that tallies around the world reached a record 1.7 million. That’s 150,000 more EV purchases than the previous record achieved in December 2023.

Many outlets more distant from the true pulse of EVs have painted a grim picture for EV adoption as sales in certain markets have slowed down. However, the global outlook paints a much rosier image of the future and shows that it’s not necessarily EV sales that are slowing down but rather certain models from OEMs in particular markets.

For example, China, a bona fide leader in EV innovation and adoption, contributed a massive chunk of the global EV sales for September 2024, reporting 1.1 million units sold. That’s approximately 65% of all global sales. This was another record month for China, which previously achieved 1 million EV units sold in August 2024.

Chinese OEMs have also become some of the most aggressive in global expansion, especially in Europe, and have shown no signs of backing down from new markets despite hefty tariffs implemented on Chinese-built EV imports. Those tariffs are expected to take effect in November and last five years.

Per the report, just over 300,00 EVs were sold in EU & EFTA & UK in September, combining for 2.2 million units sold in 2024 so far. BEV sales increased were up 12% year-on-year, but PHEV sales were down 12% compared to September 2023. Norway continues to stand out with extremely high EV penetration rates, although market volume is currently down by 4% year-to-date. The German market, home to major marques like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen Group, has grown 7% year-over-year, but that market’s YTD sales are still down by 20%.

Across the pond, EV markets in the US & Canada market continue to grow at a steady pace, up 10% for 2024 as of September. Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester commented on the numbers from each continent and how they hint at the progress of global EV sales going forward:

This record-breaking month of EV sales brings new hope to the industry. While the electrification of transport seems inevitable, the recent slowdown of sales in many parts of the world has sewn  seeds of doubt which can now start to be swept aside. However, the regional disparities are astonishing, with China alone accounting for well over half the global total. Meanwhile, Europe’s numbers are shrinking, and the US and Canada are steadily growing.

As part of the report, Rho Motion also shared a snapshot of YTD global EV sales and compared them to the same timeframe from January to September 2023:

• Global EV sales: 11.5 million, +22%  
• China: 7.2 million, +35%  
• EU & EFTA & UK: 2.2 million, -4%  
• USA & Canada: 1.3 million, +10%
• Rest of World: 0.9 million, +25% 

So, is EV adoption slowing down, or are certain markets not delivering new models at the price and features their local consumers want? Data doesn’t lie. EV adoption continues to snowball globally, and the recent lagging sales feel more like a speed bump than a true cause for worry.