Global EV sales hit 2 million in June – and the US falls further behind

Global electric vehicle sales passed 2 million in June, but the picture looks very different depending on where you live. Europe had its strongest month on record, with sales up 31% from a year earlier, driven by government incentives, high gas prices, and a new wave of smaller, more affordable EVs from Renault, Volkswagen, Skoda, and Cupra. France, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal all set monthly sales records.

The US is moving the opposite direction. Sales in North America are down 20% so far this year, a decline tied largely to the end of the federal EV tax credit last September. Electric vehicle sales at GM and Ford have fallen even more than the overall market as both companies rework their EV plans. If you've been waiting for prices to drop or incentives to return before considering an EV, this suggests the near-term US market has less support than it did a year ago, though local and state programs may still offer help depending on where you live.

China's domestic EV sales are also down for the year, so automakers there are exporting more instead, including record shipments of electric and hybrid vehicles to Europe. In Canada, the first Chinese-built Lotus SUVs arrived in July under a new tariff arrangement that lets a limited number of Chinese EVs in at a much lower tariff than before. For US homeowners weighing an EV purchase or a home charger, the takeaway is that federal support has weakened, so it's worth checking what incentives, if any, still exist in your state.