- As 2025 comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back at the significant number of milestones that the EV industry has seen over the last twelve months.
- From critical policy changes to the reveal of groundbreaking technology and more affordable EVs, 2025 has been yet another important year, with both positives and negatives for a rapidly-developing industry.
- This is our condensed overview of the most important EV moments of 2025.
What did 2025 mean for the electric vehicle sector?
The next generation of public charging
Public charging infrastructure underwent significant evolution this year. In the UK, motorway service operator Moto launched its own in-house ultra-rapid network, Moto CHARGE, featuring industry-leading 400kW speeds. When it comes to the fastest EV charging, this year BYD also announced its megawatt chargers, allowing models based on its Super e-Platform to be charged at speeds exceeding 1,000kW – allowing for a complete recharge in minutes.
Meanwhile, institutional confidence in the sector surged as Roam Charging secured a landmark £65 million loan from NatWest to accelerate the rollout of thousands of ‘charge-while-you-park’ AC points. Globally, the industry has transitioned into what experts call ‘Charging 2.0’, moving away from trial-and-error toward a more reliable, strategic, and customer-centric experience.
Policy changes across the globe
The global EV policy environment has been a story of differing paths in 2025. In the UK, the government has taken steps to boost the sector, including the introduction of the Electric Car Grant scheme, along with fresh funding for the charging sector and local vehicle manufacturing.
This stands in stark contrast to the United States, where where federal EV policy faced a major retreat. The expiration of the $7,500 tax credit and the withdrawal of billion dollar funding schemes for EV-related projects have sparked legal battles between states and the federal government.
Meanwhile, just before the close of the year, the European Union introduced a ‘softening’ in its 2035 emissions targets. Rather than a total ban on internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035, the bloc will now mandate that 90% of cars sold by that date will need to be zero emissions, leaving the door open for some plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), mild hybrids, and pure ICE models to be sold beyond that date. However, this announcement was also backed up with some EV-positive changes, including a €1.8 billion fund for EV battery manufacturing, and a new car classification class for compact, lightweight, EU-built EVs.
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) becomes a consumer reality
2025 has also seen V2G technology transition from a pilot technology into a consumer reality. A landmark moment occurred earlier this year in the UK, when Octopus Energy partnered with BYD and Zaptec to launch the UK’s first “Power Pack” V2G bundle, offering customers a leased BYD Dolphin and a bidirectional charger that can effectively bring home charging costs down to zero.
This shift is being mirrored globally. In the United States, Nissan and ChargeScape launched a major V2G pilot in Silicon Valley, while home energy specialist Sunrun began turning Ford F-150 Lightnings into mini power stations to support the Maryland grid. With these developments, it’s clear that EVs are set to play a major role in the energy grid in the years to come.
Electric HGVs increase in popularity
2025 was also the year that saw electric HGVs prove their real-world performance, with more and more transportation fleets making the switch. The Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 was a particular star, proving its worth in time-critical logistics operations such as Formula 1 whilst also undertaking a cross-UK journey feat, made possible with the growing levels of charging infrastructure.
Major fleet operators are already moving beyond their trials, with firms such as Amazon and Royal Mail making big commitments to eHGV fleets.
