The number of electric vehicles increased by around one-third last year to 55.8 million, with China and its 31.4 million vehicles accounting for more than 50 percent of the global total, according to calculations from a German energy research institute.
The figures, complied by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), include fully electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids or electric cars with range extenders.
In second place - with a significant gap from China's top spot - the United States follows with 6.4 million vehicles. Germany ranks third with 2.6 million. The United Kingdom and France each have around 2.1 million, while Norway has just over 1 million.
After years of strong increases, a decline has been observed in 2024, the fleet grew by 13.8 million vehicles, compared to 14.2 million in 2023.
WAM