The revolution on four wheels is global, yet America is finding itself in the slow lane. The race to electrify the automotive industry is in full swing, but when comparing the US to its chief economic rivals, China and Europe, the numbers paint a stark picture of a country struggling to keep pace with the worldwide acceleration of electric vehicle (EV) adoption and manufacturing.
While the US electric car market is still growing, the speed and scale of transformation elsewhere have left the once-dominant American auto industry looking like a hesitant latecomer.
The Staggering Global Disparity
The most concrete evidence of the US lagging is in market penetration. As of 2024, the market share of new battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in the US was just 8%. This pales in comparison to its key competitors:
- China holds a commanding lead, with BEVs reaching 27% of its new car sales in 2024.
- Europe is also far ahead, with BEV market share at 13% in 2024, and the combined “electric car” (BEV and Plug-in Hybrid) share reaching around 20% for the year. In some European markets, like the UK, the electric car sales share reached nearly 30% in 2024.
China’s dominance is not just about sales but also about sheer volume. In 2024 alone, China sold over 11 million electric cars—a figure greater than the total number of electric cars sold worldwide just two years prior. By comparison, US electric car sales reached 1.6 million in 2024. China is also the undisputed global manufacturing hub, responsible for over 70% of global EV production.
The consequence is that affordable EVs are flooding the markets that embrace them. While Chinese manufacturers like BYD are rapidly expanding their footprint across Europe, offering small electric models at competitive prices, the US market is largely sealed off by high tariffs, limiting consumer access to budget-friendly options. The US vehicle fleet is heavily skewed towards large cars and SUVs, with nearly 90% of available US electric models in those segments. China, in contrast, offers five times more electric models than the US, particularly in the crucial small-car segment, where affordability drives mass adoption.
The Homegrown Obstacles
The reasons for America’s slower transition are multifaceted, rooted in a fragmented policy environment, infrastructure deficits, and consumer hesitation over cost and convenience.
1. The “Chicken-and-Egg” Infrastructure Problem: Widespread “range anxiety” remains a top concern for American buyers, who are used to long driving distances and readily available gasoline stations. This anxiety is rational, as the public fast-charging network remains inadequate.
- Only about 20% of public chargers in the US are fast chargers, leading to long charging times.
- Federal initiatives, like the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, have been slow to deploy, with only a tiny fraction of the half-million planned charging stations operational.
- Regulatory roadblocks and slow permitting processes for charging stations only compound the issue.
2. Policy Uncertainty and Incentives: The US government has championed domestic EV and battery production through major legislation, but the stability of buyer incentives remains volatile. The federal EV tax credit, which could knock up to $7,500 off a vehicle price, has faced uncertainty and changes in eligibility, leading to surges and drops in demand that make long-term planning difficult for both consumers and manufacturers.
3. The Cost Barrier: Electric vehicles remain significantly more expensive at the point of sale in the US.
- The average transaction price for an electric car in the US was over $57,000 as of August, about 16% higher than the average for all cars.
- Compared to gasoline-powered vehicles, an EV can still be $7,000 to $14,000 more expensive upfront, hindering adoption among price-sensitive buyers.
- In markets like China, intense competition and massive battery production have driven battery pack prices down by about 30% in 2024, compared to only 10-15% declines in the US and Europe, enabling cheaper EV models.
The global electric car race is far from over, and the US has committed significant capital to domestic manufacturing. However, the current reality is that China, through decisive policy, industrial scale, and a focus on affordable models, is setting the global pace. For the US to close the gap, it will require a more concerted effort to simplify incentives, rapidly build out a dependable fast-charging network, and—crucially—bring down the purchase price of a broader range of electric vehicles to meet the demand of the average American driver. The opportunity is there, but the clock is ticking.