America Built 1 Million EVs Last Year. This One European Country Blew Past It

• The United States was the third-largest producer of electric vehicles last year.
• China took the title again.
• The biggest surprise was the country that finished second. Despite having a third of the U.S. population, its factories built more EVs.

Everybody knows that the United States is one of the biggest producers of electric cars in the world. However, despite its huge population and land size, it still can’t match the manufacturing prowess of this one European country.

Last year, the U.S. built 1.04 million electric cars (EVs), finishing third in the world rankings. China was first, with a whopping total of 16.1 million so-called new-energy vehicles (NEV), which include electric cars, plug-in hybrids, extended-range EVs and fuel cell vehicles. 

The Tesla Model Y helped Germany reach a new EV production record last year. The Model Y is assembled at Tesla’s Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory.

Photo by: InsideEVs.de

Finishing in second place—and setting a new record along the way—was Germany. This single European country manufactured 1.22 million EVs last year, according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). The home country of Volkswagen, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz upped its EV output by 15% compared to 2024, signaling that Europeans are more than ready to transition to electric cars. As a reminder, EV sales skyrocketed nearly 30% in Europe last year, reaching almost 2.6 million registrations.

“Domestic production of electric vehicles has reached record levels, clearly demonstrating that the German automotive industry is leading the way in e-mobility and climate-neutral mobility,” said VDA President Hildegard Müller.

In total, Germany assembled 4.15 million new cars last year, a modest 2% increase from 2024. However, it’s the distribution of powertrains that stands out. Out of all the cars built in Germany, nearly 30% were EVs. If we throw PHEVs in the mix, the number of electrified cars assembled in Germany rises to 40% of the total.

By contrast, Americans bought almost 1.3 million new EVs last year, according to Cox Automotive estimates. That’s half compared to Europe.

The U.S. has a population of roughly 340 million people, while Germany, which is part of the European Union, has just 84 million. Meanwhile, the EU’s member states, the United Kingdom and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein) have a combined estimated population of over 530 million.

Volkswagen, which has long been a staple of Germany’s industry, leads the way when it comes to EV production and sales in Europe. Last year, the people’s car brand outsold Tesla, banking on the success of its ID lineup and Tesla’s continued decline. VW sold almost 275,000 EVs in Europe in 2025, a 56% increase from the year before, while Tesla dropped 27%, selling 238,765 cars.

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