Fully charged? How the UK's electric cars share compares to other countries

Yahoo

05-06-2025

With green vehicles becoming more affordable, adoption is at full throttle, despite some recent speed bumps. So, which nations boast the largest share on the road? In an ironic twist, the number one country just happens to be a massive oil producer, while the world's biggest carbon emitter is in the top five.
Read on to discover the top 25 countries leading the way with the largest share of electric vehicles currently on the road, based on data from the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Global EV Outlook 2025.
The IEA's 2025 Outlook paints a picture of a rapidly accelerating global shift toward electric mobility – 3.5 million more cars sold in 2024 compared to the previous year. To put the momentum into perspective, the number of additional EVs sold last year on its own surpassed the total number purchased worldwide in 2020.
China, the world's biggest EV market, continues to go from strength to strength. Over in Europe, electric car sales plateaued last year as subsidies and other support schemes ended. Yet the continent remains a leader in EV adoption. While the US is playing catch-up, it saw sales rise by 10%. However, emerging markets in Asia and Latin America truly stole the show, with a remarkable 60% year-on-year increase.
Looking ahead, the EV revolution shows no signs of slowing down, with more than one in four cars sold this year set to be electric. This is in spite of uncertainties surrounding global economic growth, trade, and industrial policies. It will all come down to money in the end, as falling prices speed up mainstream adoption.
In just five years, electric cars are expected to make up 40% of new car sales, and you'll no doubt notice many more out and about on the road. But which countries have the biggest share of electric cars on their roads right now...
The number of electric cars in Poland has mushroomed by 1,058% since 2020, when it stood at just 0.1% of the total. While this growth figure is pretty jaw-dropping, Poland's share is below the global average of 4.5% and Europe's mean of 4.7%.
Expanding the nation's charging infrastructure is key to accelerating further EV adoption. For instance, in many European countries, 90% of the motorway network has a charging point every 30 miles (50km), but it's less than 80% in Poland. That said, the EU is planning to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) cars by 2035, which is turbo-charging EV infrastructure and adoption throughout the bloc, including in Poland.
EV adoption is moving faster in Greece, though it too remains modest by European standards. The number of electric cars on the road is up by an even bigger degree, with an increase of 1,346% from 2020, when the proportion was the same as Poland's at only 0.1%.
The share of new cars sold that are electric was also much higher in Greece last year, coming in at 12% against Poland's 5.7%. Interestingly, sales have held up in Greece despite a lack of new incentives and steep electricity prices.
Türkiye started from a very low base, but the country has experienced the biggest relative growth in the number of electric cars on the road among the top 25 nations on this list. The figure has skyrocketed 3,900% since 2020 when eco autos represented virtually 0% of the total. And last year, 11% of new cars sold in Türkiye were electric. The country aims to phase out the sale of new fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2040.
Incidentally, Brazil has seen the biggest relative change of all the countries tracked in the IEA's data, with its stock of electric cars over 40 times larger compared to 2020. These now constitute 0.7% of the cars on the country's highways and byways.
Electric cars are still relatively niche in Italy, but they too have seen explosive growth over the past few years with their numbers up 500% since 2020. Back then, only 0.3% of the cars on the road were electric. In 2024, a decent 7.9% of new car sales were electric.
Subsidy renewals stopped in Italy at the end of last year. Yet, encouragingly, this doesn't seem to be impacting adoption in a major way, given electric car sales increased by almost 50% in the first three months of 2025.
Spain also has a long way to go toward full EV adoption. But the numbers speak for themselves, with 400% growth in the number of electric cars on the road since 2020 when they represented just 0.4% of the grand total.
Like Poland, Spain lacks motorway charging infrastructure compared to other European countries. But the nation is swiftly making up for lost time and has installed a record number of charging points during the first quarter of this year, with the total up by a fifth.
Australia has been relatively slow in adopting the electric car, with its vast geography the primary roadblock. Infrastructure has struggled to keep up, and the nation's charging network is underdeveloped. But growth in the number of electric cars on the road has been stellar since 2020 at 956%.
Electric models made up 13% of car sales last year. With generous government incentives on offer and a large-scale charging infrastructure expansion underway, the figure is likely to shoot up in the near future. Still, there's no nationwide ban on new ICE cars planned, though the Australian Capital Territory is outlawing the polluting vehicles from 2035.
Americans have also dragged their feet on electric car adoption, due partly to a lack of infrastructure, not to mention the cost since ICE cars are typically a third cheaper in the country. The market is growing steadily, however, as prices fall. Last year, more than one in 10 cars sold were electric, and the share on the road has risen from 0.8% in 2020, with the total number up 246%.
The Trump administration ended President Biden's EV mandate and federal subsidies, and this is causing a lot of uncertainty going forward, as are the government's broader trade and industrial policies. Nevertheless, electric models are forecast to make up 11% of the cars sold in the US this year.
Amid concerns over safety and infrastructure, South Koreans have been reluctant to embrace electric cars. In 2024, sales were up, increasing from 8.7% the previous year to 9.2% of all cars sold, but the pace of growth is far slower than the government had hoped.
This year, authorities are pumping more than a billion dollars into persuading motorists to go electric. The money is funding big discounts on new electric cars and cheaper highway tolls for EV drivers, as well as an ambitious charging infrastructure expansion programme that includes installing 4,400 high-speed charging points.
New Zealanders have been sluggish too when it comes to switching to electric cars. Again, concerns over infrastructure and widespread 'range anxiety' are key barriers. The number of electric cars on the nation's roads may be up 346% since 2020, but ICE models still make up the vast majority of the total.
The New Zealand government, which has pledged to end the sale of fossil-fuel cars by 2040, is addressing these challenges, despite ending EV exemptions for road use charges. It's aiming to increase the charging network sevenfold by 2030 to 10,000 public charge points.
Canada has also been relatively slow off the mark in the EV race. Once again, poor charge-point coverage is an issue. Given the country's enormous size, establishing a comprehensive network isn't easy. Reduced battery performance in Canada's bitterly cold winters is another stumbling block.
However, electric cars represented a healthy 17% of total car sales last year, with government incentives a major driver. And the pace is likely to quicken considerably as infrastructure and battery tech improve, with Canada set to ban new ICE cars from 2035.
An outlier in Southern Europe, Portugal has embraced electric cars with relative gusto. The share on the road is up from 0.9% in 2020, swelling by 383%. Last year, electric models made up around a third of the cars sold in the country.
Portugal's comparatively rapid growth is thanks to a range of factors, from generous government incentives to rock-bottom electricity prices. In fact, according to EVBoosters, renewables-heavy Portugal is the second-cheapest country in Europe to charge an electric car.
The share of electric cars on France's roads has quadrupled since 2020, with the rate up 300%. This is around the EU average.
France is one of 14 EU member states where the share of electric cars sold actually dropped last year, in its case from 25% to 24%. This was primarily due to watered-down government subsidies.
The share of electric cars sold also declined in Austria in 2024, falling from 27% to 24%. Despite that, the nation's EV transition is coasting along nicely. The number of electric autos on Austria's roads is up 342% since 2020, when they represented just 1.2% of the total.
One of Austria's strengths is its solid charging infrastructure. Last year, 8,000 charge points were added, funded in the most part by a government subsidy, and coverage is now among the best in Europe.
The Israeli government is also investing heavily in the country's charging network and offering tax exemptions, together with other benefits, to entice electric car buyers. This approach is clearly working.
Electric car numbers have leapt by 917% since 2020. Back then, only 0.6% of the cars on Israel's highways and byways were electric. Sales continue to climb, with 21% of the autos sold last year electric, up from 17% in 2023. And by 2030, almost a third of the cars on the road will be electric, according to official estimates.
Subsidies for individual buyers were removed in the UK in 2022, but sales of electric cars continue to increase rapidly. They represented 28% of the grand total last year, up from 24% in 2023. Compared with 2020, when the share of electric cars on British roads stood at just 1.3%, the rate has soared by 392%.
A large chunk of last year's sales came from businesses and fleets where subsidies still exist, often in the form of employee salary sacrifice schemes that allow people to pay for an EV using a portion of their pre-tax earnings. The UK government's tax rebates for electric company cars and strict zero-emission sales targets are fostering growing adoption. Britain is planning to phase out new ICE car sales sooner than most countries, with a deadline of 2030 on the horizon.
Germany is among the 13 EU countries where electric auto sales declined in a relative sense last year, down from 24% to 19% of the total cars sold. Germany called time on subsidies at the end of 2023, hence the comparative drop. Yet the number of electric cars on the nation's roads has increased by 400% since 2020. The share back then was the same as the UK's at only 1.3%.
The German government recently introduced a company car tax rebate. With prices for electric cars falling, and the country's already robust charging infrastructure improving further, sales are expected to bounce back significantly.
Electric car sales in Switzerland experienced a relative decline last year, falling from 30% to 28% of all car purchases. Electric mobility solutions company Swiss eMobility attributes this to a new tax on imported electric cars, which was implemented at the start of 2024.
The good news is the dip is expected to be temporary. With improvements to the charging network a major draw, the adoption rate is poised to pick up again this year. Interestingly, Switzerland hasn't set a date for phasing out new petrol and diesel cars, but it could end up aligning with the EU's target of 2035.
Electric models made up 50% of the cars sold in Finland last year. The figure is down from 54% in 2023, but the share of fully electric cars has grown over the last four years. They accounted for almost a third of registrations in 2024, up from only 1.8% in 2020. Since that time, the number of electric autos on Finland's roads has risen by 361%.
With consumer confidence down, sales of all car types have slipped of late. But the future looks very bright for EVs in Finland, which is likely to be among the first European countries to get rid of gas-guzzling vehicles once and for all.
The Netherlands knocks it out of the park with the largest nationwide charging network in Europe. This super-strong infrastructure has been instrumental in persuading Dutch motorists to go electric.
Sales of non-emission cars comprised 48% of the grand total last year, up four percentage points from 2023, and the number of green autos on the roads has more than doubled since 2020.
Belgium's share of electric cars on the road stood at just 1.8% in 2020 against the Netherlands' 3.3%, so its growth momentum has been even more impressive through to 2024. That said, the share of electric versus ICE cars sold last year was lower at 43%.
Various factors are behind Belgium's enviable EV acceleration, from an excellent and rapidly growing charging network to favourable government policies and incentives, which include tax credits for electric company cars.
China may be the world's biggest carbon emitter, but it's also the world's largest EV market and the number one manufacturer too. Over 11 million electric cars were sold in the country last year, more than the total purchased globally just two years earlier. From constituting just 1.8% of the cars on China's roads in 2020, their share has now reached 11% and is rising fast.
Electric models made up 48% of all car sales last year, up from 38% in 2023. This year, the number is expected to rise to 60% as the Chinese government goes all out to speed up the shift to electric. While not yet enshrined in law, it's aiming to phase out the sale of new ICE cars by 2035.
Nordic countries, which have acted extra-fast when it comes to adopting EVs, make up the top four on this list. The share of electric cars on Sweden's roads has risen by almost 10 percentage points since 2020, with the absolute number up 261%.
The discontinuation of a purchase subsidy programme at the end of 2022 contributed to a 10% drop in electric auto purchases in 2024. Yet the share of total sales declined only marginally from 60% to 58% due to a drop in ICE car sales. Despite this hiccup, Sweden is well on the way to phasing out fossil-fuel vehicles.
EV-friendly Denmark has seen the most striking growth among the top 10, with the number of electric cars on the road up 639% since 2020, when they represented only 2.3% of the total.
Last year, sales rose to reach 56% of all car purchases. This epic growth is due to excellent government support, ranging from substantial investments in the charging network to tax rebates for EVs, coupled with a strong willingness on the part of the Danish public to embrace electric mobility.
Iceland has emerged as a global EV champion, with the proportion of electric cars on its roads now nudging a fifth, up from around one in 15 in 2020. A key factor in this success is Iceland's abundance of cheap electricity from renewable sources, making it the most affordable place to charge an EV in Europe, according to EVBoosters.
Despite a drop in electric car sales in 2024 – their share of new purchases fell from 71% to 42% due to fewer government incentives – the market has rebounded strongly this year. And with Iceland introducing a ban on new ICE autos in 2030, the nation's roads will soon be dominated by electric cars.
Norway is heading the EV revolution, and then some. With 32% of the cars on its roads already electric, the Nordic nation stands as the undisputed global leader.
By hiking taxes on ICE cars and showering EV buyers with rebates and perks, Norway has made gas-guzzling motors more expensive and less appealing. In the meantime, it has used its vast oil wealth to build a world-beating charging network. The results are staggering. In 2024, 92% of all new car sales were electric. The figure is set to climb to nearly 100% this year, in line with the Norwegian government's pledge to have only zero-emission vehicles on sale from 2025.
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