US hybrid sales have been rising as consumers balk at high EV prices and recharging infrastructure challenges LONDON: Global electric vehicle sales jumped 69 percent in January from a year earlier but were down 26 percent from December, reflecting subsidy cuts or tighter rules in Germany and France and seasonally weaker sales in China, market research firm Rho Motion said on Wednesday. Sales of fully electric cars, or battery electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrids hit 1.1 million in January, up from 660,000 in January 2023. Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester told Reuters that EV sales in Germany and France fell around 50 percent in January versus December after Germany scrapped its subsidies and France tightened requirements for its subsidies. But he added that new CO2 limits for the EU that come into effect in 2025 mean automakers will spend this year beefing up their offerings of BEV and hybrid models. “What is really going to spur on sales is the EU emission standards for 2025,” Lester said. In the US market and Canada, January sales were up 41 percent versus a year ago and they almost doubled in China. Sales in the EU, European Free Trade Association and the UK rose 29 percent. Against December, sales in China were down 26 percent ahead of Chinese New Year. They were down 32 percent in Europe and 14 percent in the US and Canada. Last month, when reporting results, General Motors said it would launch plug-in hybrid vehicles in North America, reversing a strategy of bypassing hybrid powertrains in that market. US hybrid sales have been rising as consumers balk at high EV prices and recharging infrastructure challenges. “Looking at the US and Canada, the main story right now is the potential re-emergence of plug-in hybrids that GM announced,” Lester said.