Emerging markets overtake Germany in new electric car registrations

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The global sales of electric cars are growing significantly faster than perceived in many European debates. This is shown by the current report „The EV Leapfrog“ by the energy think tank Ember. According to the report, the share of electrified passenger cars in global new car sales between January and October 2025 was over 25 percent. In 2019, it was less than three percent. And according to Ember, China will see more than 50 percent of newly registered cars being pure electric cars for the first time in 2025.

Emerging markets are driving development

According to Ember, 39 countries have now exceeded an EV share of more than ten percent in new registrations. Six years ago, there were only four – all of them in Europe. The development in emerging and developing countries is particularly striking, with several now achieving higher EV shares than Germany.

Ember reports EV shares of around 40 percent for Vietnam and Singapore, and more than 20 percent for Thailand. Uruguay, with about 27 percent, is reaching a level comparable to the European Union. In Germany, the share of battery-electric passenger cars in new registrations in 2025 was only 19 percent, according to current figures from the German Energy Agency (Dena).

Leapfrog effect

Ember describes this development as a leapfrog effect: instead of electrifying step-by-step through hybrid or transitional technologies, many countries are skipping classic development stages and directly opting for battery-electric vehicles. This is facilitated by targeted industrial policy, tax incentives, the establishment of local manufacturing, and the import of comparatively inexpensive electric cars, especially from China.

According to Ember's assessment, the focus of passenger car market electrification is thus increasingly shifting away from Europe and North America towards countries that have so far hardly been considered drivers of electromobility.

Electromobility as a growth driver

According to the Ember report, countries like Vietnam, Nepal, and Ethiopia are using electromobility to reduce fossil fuel imports and improve air quality. Ethiopia has been the first country in the world to completely ban the import of vehicles with internal combustion engines since 2024, which has led to a strong acceleration in electromobility. Vietnam is relying on low-emission zones in cities to combat severe air pollution.

In contrast, in the USA and Canada, funding programs were scaled back or discontinued in 2025, such as the federal tax credit for electric cars in the USA and the iZEV program in Canada. The EU is also pursuing a different path with the planned loosening of the combustion engine ban from 2035, which continues to allow the sale of combustion engine passenger cars. (mch)