Electric car sales hit record 10 million in last 12 months — Global EV Tracker issue #1

Global battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales reached 9.9 million over the 12 months to January 2024 - according to data from our new Global Electric Vehicle Tracker (GEVT).

The new monthly tracker will analyse progress in the global phase out of sales of diesel and petrol vehicles, with the platform covering car sales, targets, incentives, and regulations in 18 major automotive markets. 

These markets, including the United States, China and major European markets, collectively account for more than 80% of car sales, with more countries expected to be added as soon as the data becomes available.

In the first edition, the data reveals that January saw a total of 4.6m car sales across every country tracked, of which 678,000 were battery electric vehicles - equating to 14% of the total market, up from 11% in the same month last year. 

Sales have risen particularly steeply in emerging markets, with BEVs in Thailand now accounting for a higher proportion of car sales than in the US, Italy, and Spain. 

Meanwhile, the market share of BEVs in China now exceeds every country but the Netherlands and the Nordic nations. The UK has the second slowest BEV sales growth of any tracked country, as a result of delays to the introduction of EV sales targets.

Where full manufacturer data is available, Tesla remains the leading global manufacturer except in Germany, where VW leads, and China, where BYD takes top spot and now sells 50% more vehicles.

Ben Nelmes, Policy Officer at New AutoMotive, said:“With nearly 10 million EV sales over the last 12 months, and every country seeing a substantial increase in the number of EV sales, the global direction of travel is clear - the only route to growth for the automotive industry is by going all in on electrification.

“But the data shows that governments have a key role to play, with electric car sales much higher in countries with ambitious targets and incentives to help drivers go electric.

“Electric cars are increasingly dogged by misinformation. Our bulletin will cut through the misinformation and show how electric car sales are taking off across the world.”

The Global Electric Vehicle Tracker will be published monthly and will include interactive data graphics and expert analysis. 

The detailed report breaks down vehicles registered across the globe by fuel type, manufacturer and market share, with all the data freely available to view and download.