Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles surged 24 per cent in June from a year earlier, driven by strong demand in China and Europe, while the US fell behind, according to the market research firm Rho Motion. A total of 1.8 million battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids were sold last month, the London-based firm said on Tuesday. Sales in China jumped 28 per cent to 1.11 million units, or 60 per cent of the worldwide total, while Europe’s demand rose 23 per cent to 390,000 units, according to the report. The US, the world’s second-largest vehicle market after China, was the laggard, with sales in North America falling 9 per cent to just over 140,000 units, the data showed. Demand in the rest of the world surged 43 per cent to more than 140,000 vehicles, boosting the significance of the emerging markets of Southeast Asia and Central America, Rho Motion said. In the first half of this year, 9.1 million electric vehicles (EVs) were sold globally, a 28 per cent increase from a year earlier. China led with 5.5 million units, followed by Europe with 2 million and North America with 900,000. “[The] EV sales figures for the first half of 2025 show that China and Europe are steaming ahead in terms of the electric transition,” said Charles Lester, data manager at Rho Motion. Lester said he expected subsidies in China to continue in the second half despite “reports that some cities’ subsidies have run out, prompting expectations of a slowdown in the Chinese market”. US EV sales, which fell 1 per cent in June from a year earlier, were likely to struggle to pick up this year after US President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” cut tax credits sooner than anticipated, Lester said. Trump’s landmark spending bill, signed into law on July 4, would cut US government support for emission-light vehicles and clean energy, potentially impacting EVs and driving up costs for EVs and electricity. At the same time, global carmakers face a 25 per cent import tariff in the US, the world’s second-largest car market, causing many of them to recalibrate their outlooks for 2025. On Monday, Sweden-based Volvo Cars, which is controlled by China’s Geely Holding, said it was booking an impairment charge of 11.4 billion Swedish kronor (US$1.2 billion) in the second quarter related to its ES90 and coming EX90 due to tariffs and launch delays. The company said that it was currently unable to profitably sell the China-made ES90 in the US due to import tariffs, while profit margins in Europe were also under pressure. “Given market developments such as import tariffs in the US, development and launch delays for the EX90 and strategic investment [priorities], we have reassessed volume assumptions for these two cars,” said Fredrik Hansson, CFO at Volvo Cars. “This has resulted in a lower-than-planned lifecycle profitability.” The charge reflects adjustments in expected volumes and lifecycle profitability for the EX90 and ES90 platforms, as well as significant past launch delays and additional development costs. Of the total, 4 billion kronor will impact the cost of sales, while the rest will affect research and development expenses. Volvo Cars, which releases its second-quarter results on Thursday, anticipates a 9 billion kronor impact on net income for the period.