EV Market Powers Through With 20% Sales Growth In 2025 as US Fast-Charging Network Explodes

Everyone wrote the EV slowdown narrative a little too early. In 2025, the electric vehicle industry proved skeptics wrong, with global sales climbing to 20.7M units — up 20% despite widespread doubts. China remained the anchor, growing 17% year-over-year, while Europe led the charge with a 33% surge. North America was the outlier, slipping 4% after US policy shifts wiped out federal tax credits.

• Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Charles Lester said the EV market “proved more resilient than many expected,” with the 2025 shake-up leaving the industry “virtually unrecognizable.”
• US charging infrastructure kept accelerating despite softer sales, adding ~11.3K ultra-fast chargers in 2025, a 48% YoY increase.

Charging ahead: The US now has more than 70K public fast chargers, with TeslaTSLA

controlling 52% after adding nearly 6.8K ports — a build-out that’s improving charging economics even as demand outlooks diverge. Analysts expect US EV sales to fall 29% in 2026 as incentives fade, while Europe is set to grow another 14% as emissions deadlines approach. As EVgo CEO Badar Khan puts it, “rising charge rates are a significant tailwind,” with faster hardware boosting throughput without requiring higher utilization.