Global electric vehicle sales in January–October of the last year totaled 17.1 million units, according to SNE Research — an increase of 25.5% compared with the same period of 2024. Overall, 17.7 million electric vehicles were sold worldwide over the full past year, up 26.1% year-on-year.
Electric vehicles are gaining traction rapidly. Prior to 2021, annual sales did not exceed 10 million units; in 2022 they reached 10.6 million, and in 2023 surpassed 14 million vehicles.
Nearly two thirds of all electric vehicles sold globally in January–October of the current year were concentrated in China alone: 10.9 million units, up 24.2% year-on-year. Europe followed with 3.4 million electric vehicles sold, almost one third more than a year earlier. Sales in North America reached 1.6 million units, while Asia excluding China accounted for just under 1 million. All other regions combined recorded only 328 thousand electric vehicles sold.
By brand, the electric vehicle market in the current year is led by China’s BYD, which has firmly consolidated its leadership in the segment. Sales reached 3.3 million vehicles, with year-on-year growth of 4.8%. Against the backdrop of intensifying competition among Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, BYD revised its full-year sales target for 2025 down from 5.5 million to 4.6 million vehicles.
Another Chinese brand, Geely, follows in second place, having displaced Tesla from this position. Geely sold 1.8 million electric vehicles, driven by its sub-brands Zeekr, Galaxy, and Lynk&Co, which are focused on global markets. Geely’s electric vehicle sales surged by 64.7% year-on-year.
Tesla, once the undisputed leader of the global electric vehicle market, ranked third in 2025 with sales of 1.3 million vehicles, down 7.7% compared with January–October 2024. Notably, Tesla was the only brand in the top ten by electric vehicle sales to post a decline versus the previous year. Tesla’s electric vehicle sales fell across all regions, with the sharpest drop recorded in Europe, at 20.5%.
The top ten electric vehicle brands by sales also included Volkswagen (1.1 million), SAIC (1 million), Changan (736 thousand), Hyundai/Kia (553 thousand), Chery (529 thousand), BMW (492 thousand), and Stellantis (436 thousand). As a result, five Chinese brands were represented among the ten largest players in the global electric vehicle market.
Electric vehicles are also seeing strong demand in Kazakhstan. According to data from the Bureau of National statistics of Agency for Strategic planning and reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, nearly 16 thousand electric vehicles were on the country’s roads as of the end of September 2025 — an increase of 39.4% year-on-year. For comparison, in September 2023 their number barely exceeded 6 thousand, while in September 2022 fewer than 500 electric vehicles were registered in Kazakhstan.
More than half of all electric vehicles as of the end of September of the current year were registered in Almaty alone, at 9.3 thousand units. Astana and Almaty Region followed, with 1.9 thousand and 927 electric vehicles, respectively.
The lowest numbers of registered electric vehicles were recorded in Abai Region (38) and Ulytau Region (64). It is also worth noting the abolished South Kazakhstan Region, under whose former code one electric vehicle remains registered.
