(Reuters) -Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles jumped 24% in June from a year ago, as a switch to electric vehicles maintained momentum in China and Europe, market research firm Rho Motion said on Tuesday.

Still, EV sales in the United States were down 1% in the month and will struggle to pick up this year, after President Donald Trump's spending bill cut tax credits sooner than anticipated, Rho Motion's data manager Charles Lester said.

North America, also weighed by slowing sales in Canada, lagged for the first time behind the "rest of the world" countries, which include emerging markets in Southeast Asia and South and Central America, Lester said.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Global automakers face a 25% import tariff in the United States, the world's second-largest car market, causing many of them to withdraw their outlooks for 2025.

In Europe, incentives for retail and fleet buyers in key markets such as Germany and Spain, alongside a growing availability of cheap EVs, are expected to support electric car sales through the second half of the year.

While some of the most successful EVs in the small vehicle segment are produced by European carmakers such as Volkswagen and Renault, those by Chinese brands including BYD are taking up market share in the continent and driving growth in emerging markets, Lester said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Global sales of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose to 1.8 million units in June, Rho Motion data showed.

Sales in China jumped 28% from the same month last year to 1.11 million vehicles.

Europe posted a 23% increase to about 390,000 units, while North American sales fell 9% to over 140,000.

Sales in the rest of the world surged 43% to exceed 140,000 vehicles.

KEY QUOTE

"There's been reports over the last few months of a slowdown potentially in China" due to some cities running out of subsidies, Lester said.

"But overall, we'd expect in (the second half) for more subsidy amounts to be available," leading to a "big boost" in volumes towards the end of the year, he added.