Two-thirds of electric cars bought by Chinese drivers
More than six in 10 electric vehicles (EVs) sold globally last month were purchased by drivers in China, new figures show.
A record 1.7m EVs were sold across the world in September, marking a 31pc increase compared to a year ago, according to research by Rho Motion.
However, around 1.1m of these were in China, the figures show, underlining the extent to which the country is pulling ahead in the switch to electrified transport.
Overall, some 11.5m EVs have been sold globally in the first nine months of this year, Rho Motion said.
That is up by around one fifth compared to the same period in 2023 but growth has varied dramatically in different parts of the world.
For example, while sales in China have surged 35pc to 7.2m, combined sales in Europe and the UK fell 4pc to 2.2m.
In the US and Canada, sales were up 10pc to 1.3m, while they rose 25pc to about 900,000 in the rest of the world.
The figures come after separate data showed sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids together accounted for more than half of China’s car market for the third month in a row in September.
That has been driven by the huge success of domestic brands such as BYD which have succeeded in selling relatively low-cost but high-tech cars to the masses.
BYD’s Seagull, a hatchback with a range of 190 miles, has been the best-selling vehicle in the country, with the cheapest version starting at a price of just 69,800 yuan (£7,500).
Charles Lester, of Rho Motion, said: “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 sown 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.”
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association separately warned of a “spectacular” drop in new EV sales across the Continent this summer.
Sales plunged by 70pc in Germany and 33pc in France, two of the Continent’s biggest car markets, during August.
It meant that only 92,627 EVs were registered across the whole of Europe that month, a fall of 43.9pc compared to a year earlier.
Although EV sales in the UK hit a monthly record of 56,362 in September, the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders has warned that demand in 2024 remains well behind government-set targets.