Global sales of electric cars rose by over 25% last year says IEA: comment
Sales of electric cars rose by over 25% last year, with electric models accounting for one in five cars sold globally .
By Colin Walker
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Commenting on analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA), showing that sales of electric cars rose by over 25% last year, with electric models accounting for one in five cars sold globally [1], Colin Walker, Head of Transport at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said:
“The IEA has singled out the UK’s ZEV mandate as a successful policy helping to drive up EV sales. As manufacturers compete to hit their sales targets, prices are being driven down helping more UK drivers make the move to cheaper and cleaner electric driving.
"The UK is currently leading Europe as its biggest EV market and weakening the ZEV mandate risks slowing the UK’s EV transition which ultimately means more families unable to make the shift to cheaper, cleaner driving. New cars typically hit the second hand market, where most of us buy our cars, after three or four years and second hand EVs now cost roughly the same as their petrol counterparts – slow the sale of new EVs, and you slow the growth of this vital market. Weakening the mandate could also see billions of investment in our charging infrastructure held back, and undermine the efforts of our car industry to secure its future by making the shift to building the EVs to which our major export markets are moving."
Analysis by the ECIU found that by 2048 a weakening of the ZEV mandate could result in sales similar to the ‘lower option’ considered by the previous Government when designing the policy, resulting in 2.7m fewer EVs entering the second hand market than would otherwise have been the case by 2048. This means that a total of around £40bn in extra motoring costs would have to be shouldered by millions of families across the UK, including some of the poorest. [2]
A recent report by CBI Economics, commissioned by the ECIU, revealed that a failure by the car industry to make the transition to manufacturing EVs could see its contributions to the UK economy fall by as much as 73%, or £34.1bn, and over 400,000 jobs could be lost. Conversely, economic output could increase by over £16bn, and 167,000 new jobs could be created, if a rapid and successful transition takes place. Government support is critical in avoiding such an outcome, and this includes the provision of a stable and supportive regulatory environment through keeping measures like the ZEV Mandate in place. [3]
“The IEA has singled out the UK’s ZEV mandate as a successful policy helping to drive up EV sales." @colinwalker79 of @ECIU_UK
Notes to editors:
1. IEA Global Energy Review: https://www.iea.org/news/growth-in-global-energy-demand-surged-in-2024-to-almost-twice-its-recent-average
2. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2025/2-7-million-families-saddled-with-1-600-petrol-premium-if-ev-policy-weakened
For more information or for interview requests:
George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net