Global sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) grew by 25 percent to 17 million units in 2024. This was fueled in part by strong results in China, but also by a fourth consecutive month of record sales of pluggable electrified vehicles in December.

　　Incentives and emissions targets imposed on manufacturers have stimulated sales of electric models in China and allowed England to overtake Germany as the largest electric-vehicle market in Europe.

　　In Canada, the announcement of the reduction of rebates in Quebec starting in January stimulated sales late in the year. Recent announcements regarding the suspension of the Quebec program, as well as the end of the federal program, will certainly have a negative effect on sales of EVs in 2025, but that remains to be seen.

　　In fact, electric vehicle manufacturers consider 2025 to be a year of transformation. Several question marks remain. In China, growth is slowing. In Europe, stricter standards are coming into force, which should stimulate sales. As for the North American market, no one can predict what effect the incoming U.S. administration might have on the automotive industry as a whole.

　　Sales of EVs and PHEVs were particularly strong in December, during which sales were up by 26 percent compared to the same period last year, for a total of 1.9 million units sold, according to Reuters, which cites data from consulting firm Rho Motion.

　　Over in China, December sales jumped by 37 percent, with 1.3 million units. In 2024, 11 million plug-in electrified vehicles sold in that market.

　　In the U.S. and Canada, electric vehicle sales increased by 8.8 percent to 0.19 million units in December. That made North America a hotter market than Europe, where sales stayed relatively flat with sales of 0.31 million models, up just 0.7 percent compared to the same month in 2023.

　　In the rest of the world, December sales of EVs and PHEVs increased by 26 percent.

　　On to 2025

　　Rho Motion raises some questions about the prospects for 2025, stating that The removal of subsidies in Germany has had a devastating impact on the entire European market, and if the United States follows suit, we could see the same thing.

　　The firm does not mention Canada, because the figures here are smaller, but the disappearance of federal EV incentives will have a significant impact, compounded by the suspension of the program in Quebec.

　　Referring to Novembers figures, Rho Motions head of data Charles Lester said there was no net decline in sales of major Chinese-made electric models following the introduction of tariffs by the European Union at the end of October.

　　A European Union report showed last week that manufacturers facing stricter CO2 emissions rules planned to pool together and buy carbon credits from electric vehicle companies like Tesla and Polestar, in order to avoid heavy fines.

　　What is clear is that things will change in 2025. EV prices could play a large role, especially if they arrive on par with those of ICE models. Many in the industry have been saying production cost parity is on the horizon, and if that should finally come to pass, that could also have an impact on sales, a positive one in this case. In fact theres little doubt that the arrival of more affordable electric models will be a game-changer. The market just needs more of them out there.