Drivers ditching ICE cars with best-ever year for EVs - except Tesla

Global electric vehicle (EV) sales enjoyed their best-ever start to the year with registrations across 40 of the world’s largest markets reaching 729,000 in February - while Tesla’s star continues to fade, slipping to fourth place behind China’s BYD.

According to New AutoMotive's Global Electric Vehicle Tracker, the rise was led by China, with an increase of 121,000 EVs; the US - defying doomongers - with a 20,000 increase; Germany returning to pre-sales crash levels with 8,000 extra registrations, and the UK recording an additional 5,700.

All-electric car registrations were up 32 per cent on the same month last year, whilst plug-in hybrids hit 350,000, up 69 per cent on 2024 levels.

Globally, plug-in hybrids now account for more than 22.7 per cent of registrations - up 32 per cent (5.5 percentage points) on their market share last year.

In fact, the modest increase in overall car sales (130,000 or 1.4 %) was only achieved thanks to the surging volumes of hybrid plug-in vehicles.

Registrations of petrol and diesel vehicles meanwhile had their worst post-pandemic start to the year, with sales over the first two months of 2025 down 7%, or 450,000 compared with the same time last year.

However, one-time global EV darling Tesla’s fortunes have gone from bad to worse falling to 4th, position behind BYD in China. 

BBC News has reported that the Shenzhen-based BYD posted 2024 revenues rising 29%, to $107 billion, compared to the $97.7 bn reported by Tesla.

BYD sold around the same number of EVs as Tesla last year – 1.76m compared to 1.79m, respectively although when sales of the Chinese company's hybrid cars are taken into account, it is much bigger, selling a record 4.3m vehicles globally in 2024.

Tesla sales are steeply down in European markets, falling by between 40%-45% in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Sweden, 55% in Finland and 70% in Germany, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

According to analyst Jato Dynamics, Tesla’s market share fell to 9.6% in February - the lowest it has for the last five years. Year-to date its market share fell from 18.4% in 2024 to 7.7% this year

It cited Tesla chief executive Elon Musk’s increasingly active role in politics as a possible factor, but noted also the potential impact of the imminent launch of the new Model Y.

New AutoMotive’s analysis also found that the Trump administration’s rhetoric on EVs does not appear to have dissuaded US car buyers. More than 94,000 battery EVs were registered, up 27% from the 74,000 registered in February 2024, whilst ICE car sales fell 6%.