Electric Vehicle Statistics 2026: Global Sales, Share and Charging

Electric car sales grew by 20% globally to exceed 20 million in 2025, meaning one-quarter of all new cars sold were electric, according to the International Energy Agency. Global electric car sales are expected to grow to 23 million in 2026, representing 28% of total car sales. The electric vehicle statistics below track where that growth is landing.

That headline hides a market moving in two directions at once. NEV sales accounted for a record 60.6% of China’s monthly new car sales in August 2026, according to CAAM data, while EV sales accounted for approximately 5.8% of total US new-vehicle volume in the second quarter of 2026. The figures below cover regional sales, the 2026 forecast, BYD and Tesla volumes, prices, charging networks, and battery costs, drawn from the latest official releases.

Key Takeaways

• Chinese automakers supplied 60% of global electric car sales in 2025, while European and North American automakers were each responsible for about 15%.
• Battery-electric cars held a 21.7% share of the EU market up until August 2026, up from 15.8% a year earlier, per the ACEA.
• Hybrid-electric car registrations captured 36.6% of the EU market, remaining the preferred choice among EU consumers.
• US EV sales fell 20.5% year over year in Q2 2026, while US hybrid sales are forecast to increase by approximately 9%, per Cox Automotive.
• BEVs accounted for 59.81% of BYD’s passenger NEV sales in September 2026, up from 52.17% a year earlier.
• In China, 70% of battery electric cars sold in 2025 were already cheaper than the average conventional car.

Editor’s Choice

• Global electric car sales, 2025: Exceeded 20 million, one-quarter of all new cars sold.
• 2026 global forecast: 23 million, or 28% of total car sales.
• China NEV sales, January to August 2026: 10.65 million, up 10.7%.
• Tesla Q3 2026 deliveries: 486,532 vehicles.
• BYD Q3 2026 NEV sales: 1,323,065, up 18.75% year-on-year.
• Global public charging points, end of 2025: More than 7 million.

Electric Vehicle Statistics: Global Sales by Region

• Electric car sales in Europe reached a total of 4.2 million in 2025, or 28% of all new cars sold, after increasing by more than 30%.
• In the European Union, electric car sales totalled almost 3 million.
• Growth in China slowed slightly, in part due to a temporary halt to its trade-in scheme, though EVs still made up more than half of all car sales there.
• US electric car sales remained relatively stable at just under 10% of car sales, though the end of EV tax credits coincided with a drop in sales at the end of the year.
• Southeast Asia’s annual sales more than doubled to reach a sales share of nearly 20%, led by Viet Nam, Indonesia and Thailand.
• India’s electric car sales increased 75% year-on-year to reach 165,000, representing nearly 4% of total car sales.
• Electric car sales in the Middle East reached around 75,000 in 2025, expanding by more than 40% year-on-year.
• More than 100 countries recorded electric car sales growth in 2025, and in one-third of these, EVs represented at least 10% of new car sales.

Source: IEA Global EV Outlook 2026

About This Data

Figures are compiled from 13 sources: 3 intergovernmental, government, and company filings, 6 industry association and research releases, and 4 news reports that relay official company and association data, published between December 2025 and October 2026. Official statistics and company disclosures come first, and paid market-research estimates are left out. Figures are reviewed on a rolling basis and updated when sources publish new editions.

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What percentage of cars are electric vehicles?

One-quarter of all new cars sold worldwide in 2025 were electric, per the IEA. The agency expects that share to reach 28% of total car sales in 2026. The answer depends heavily on the country, as the regional table above shows, with China far ahead of the United States.

China Electric Vehicle Sales Statistics

• China’s NEV output and sales in August 2026 reached over 1.65 million and 1.64 million units, respectively, both up nearly 20% year on year.
• Overall auto output and sales in August stood at 2.68 million and 2.71 million units, respectively.
• Cumulative NEV sales in the first 8 months totaled 10.65 million, up 10.7%, accounting for 52.4% of total vehicle sales.
• China’s NEV exports rose 1.3-fold to 526,000 units in August.
• In the first eight months, auto exports totaled 7.15 million units, including 3.44 million NEVs, a 1.2-fold increase.
• Preliminary April 2026 data showed monthly electric car sales in China grew to a record high of over 60% of total car sales.
• Monthly NEV sales reached 1,643,000 in August 2026, against 1,395,000 in August 2025.

Recent Developments

• October 2026: Tesla produced 464,391 vehicles and delivered 486,532 in the third quarter of 2026, and deployed 13.7 GWh of energy storage products.
• October 1, 2026: BYD sold 1,323,065 NEVs in the third quarter, marking a return to quarterly year-on-year growth after 4 consecutive quarters of declines.
• October 1, 2026: Norway recorded 18,733 new passenger car registrations in September, with electric cars at 98.8% of new vehicle sales.
• September 2026: The ACEA reported 1,641,333 new battery-electric car registrations in the EU in the first eight months of 2026.
• September 10, 2026: CAAM data showed China’s NEV share of monthly new car sales reached a record 60.6% in August.
• September 2026: The SMMT reported UK battery electric vehicle registrations up 27.7% in August, claiming 29.8% of the market.

Electric Vehicle Sales Forecast 2026

• In the first quarter of 2026, global electric car sales, at around 3.9 million, were 8% lower than over the same period last year, primarily because of lower sales in China and the United States.
• In March 2026, around 30 countries saw record-breaking monthly sales, and a further 60 countries recorded year-on-year sales growth.
• Europe’s sales are projected to increase by around 20% in 2026, such that one in three cars sold are electric.
• Sales across Asia Pacific countries other than China are expected to grow by over 50%, while sales in Latin America are projected to rise by 45%.
• The global fleet of EVs is projected to grow more than sixfold by 2035 from 2025 levels, to reach as many as 510 million, without counting electric two- or three-wheelers.
• The share of EVs in global car sales reaches around 50% in 2035 in the IEA’s exploratory scenarios.
• In 2025, the global fleet of EVs avoided the consumption of around 1.7 million barrels of oil per day.

Source: IEA Global EV Outlook 2026

The road transport sector represents close to half of oil demand today, which is why the IEA frames the 2026 outlook around the energy crisis as well as climate targets. Each of those cars is also a networked machine, part of the fast-growing Internet of things footprint.

Europe EV Market Share Statistics

• New EU car registrations increased by 5.3% year-to-date through August 2026.
• Three of the four largest EU markets recorded strong battery-electric growth: France (+74.2%), Germany (+53.1%) and Denmark (+40.9%).
• New EU hybrid-electric car registrations rose to 2,759,718 units in the first eight months of 2026.
• Plug-in-hybrid electric car registrations reached 758,082 units in January-August 2026, now representing 10% of EU registrations, up from 8.8%.
• Petrol car registrations fell 18.6%, with petrol’s market share falling to 21.7% from 28% last year.
• The combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 29%, compared with 37.5% a year earlier.
• In 2025, 24 of the 27 EU member states recorded an increase in electric car sales shares, compared with just 13 the previous year.

Why it matters: Hybrid-electric cars captured 36.6% of new EU registrations through August 2026, while battery-electric cars took 21.7% and petrol and diesel combined fell to 29%, per the ACEA. The hybrid still holds the largest share of the EU market, but battery-electric is the fastest-growing powertrain and took most of the share petrol and diesel gave up.

UK Electric Car Registration Statistics

• UK new car registrations rose 13.7% to 94,236 units in August 2026.
• Battery electric vehicles increased 27.7% to account for 29.8% of overall uptake in August, the second-highest monthly share of the year so far.
• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles posted the strongest growth, up 39.8% to account for 14.5% of registrations, while hybrid electric vehicles rose 26.3% with 12.7% of the market.
• Year-to-date BEV registrations reached 355,746, up 28.6%, for a 25.62% market share against 21.86% in 2025.
• Total UK new car registrations reached 1,388,735 in the year to date, up 9.8%.

August typically represents around 4% of new car registrations, and the BEV share follows a recurring seasonal spike seen every August since 2023. Comparing August with August removes that seasonal effect and shows a steady climb.

Norway Electric Car Market Share

• Norway registered 18,733 new passenger cars in September 2026, an increase of 31% compared to the same month last year.
• Electric cars took 18,511 new registrations in September, for a 98.8% share.
• Pure electric cars accounted for 97.8% of all new registrations so far this year.
• Only 77 new diesel cars and 14 petrol cars were registered in September.

Source: OFV via electrive, September 2026

“The Norwegian new car market is now almost entirely electric,” the Norwegian Road Information Authority (OFV) recently stated.

US Electric Vehicle Sales Statistics

• Kelley Blue Book estimates show 247,226 EVs were sold in the second quarter of 2026, up 14.7% from the revised Q1 total.
• Q2 volume declined by 20.5% from the same period in 2025, the third consecutive quarterly year-over-year decline.
• The Q2 decline was an improvement over Q1, when sales fell 27.3%, and Q4 2025, when sales were off by more than 36%.
• EV share hit a record 10.6% in the third quarter of 2025, when buyers rushed to take advantage of expiring government incentives.
• New EV sales totaled an estimated 78,895 units in August 2026, up 2.5% from July but down 46.9% from a year earlier.
• In the first half of 2026, the overall US new-vehicle market is expected to decline by 2.2% compared to a year ago, according to Kelley Blue Book counts.

Source: Cox Automotive, Kelley Blue Book estimates, 2025 to 2026

The US slump is a policy story more than a demand story: the record quarter and the collapse that followed bracket the end of federal tax credits.

Electric Vehicle Price Statistics

• The average transaction price for a new EV declined to $54,754 in August 2026, down 1.3% month over month and 2.8% year over year.
• Incentives averaged 12% of ATP, or approximately $6,594 per vehicle.
• The average listing price for a used EV was $37,441 in August, 8.2% higher year over year.
• The used EV premium over ICE+ vehicles narrowed to 7.8%.

Key finding: Cox Automotive data shows the EV price premium over ICE+ vehicles narrowed to $4,847, or 9.7%, continuing the trend toward price parity between EVs and ICE+ vehicles. Cheaper models are selling better and several popular nameplates are transacting for less, so the gap is closing through a combination of product mix and softer prices.

What is the downside to owning an electric car?

Upfront cost remains the clearest measurable downside in US data. A new EV carried a premium of $4,847 over ICE+ vehicles in August 2026; incentives averaged approximately $6,594 per vehicle. Used EVs narrow that gap. The average used EV listing price was 8.2% higher year over year in August 2026, while easing 1% month over month.

Tesla Delivery Statistics

• Tesla delivered 478,237 Model 3/Y vehicles and 8,295 other models in Q3 2026.
• Tesla deployed 13.7 GWh of energy storage products in the quarter.
• Tesla sold 40,816 EVs in the US in August 2026, a 51.7% share of EV sales, down 3.4 percentage points from the prior month.
• Tesla’s US sales were off more than 10% in the first half of 2026, but the company still accounted for roughly half of all US EV sales.
• In the Middle East, Tesla’s share has fallen to around 15%, while BYD has rapidly expanded to a 60% market share, per the IEA.

Source: Tesla Form 8-K, October 2026

Deliveries ran ahead of production in the quarter, and two models still carry almost the entire volume. The company’s driverless push is tracked in our robotaxi statistics.

BYD Sales Statistics

• In the first 9 months of 2026, BYD’s cumulative NEV sales totaled 3,131,576 units, down 3.94% year-on-year.
• BYD’s passenger NEV sales in September reached 456,713, up 16.19% year-on-year.
• Passenger BEV sales hit a record 273,143 in September, up 33.21% year-on-year.
• Passenger PHEV sales totaled 183,570, down 2.36% year-on-year.
• BYD’s cumulative passenger BEV sales reached 1,629,957 in the first 9 months, up 1.50% year-on-year.

By the numbers: BYD company reports show BEVs accounted for 59.81% of passenger NEV sales in September, up from 59.12% in August and 52.17% a year earlier. Plug-in hybrids outsold battery-electric cars at BYD from January to April 2026, but every month since May has gone to the battery-electric side, and that shift is now lifting its quarterly totals.

EV Charging Infrastructure Statistics

• In 2025, nearly 1.8 million public charging points were added to the global stock, an increase of more than 33%.
• The UK had 121,171 public EV chargers as of 1 July 2026, or 174.9 per 100,000 of the population, according to Department for Transport statistics.
• 28,887 UK public EV chargers were rated rapid or above (50kW+).
• Standard chargers (3kW to under 8kW) made up 49% of UK public chargers on 1 July 2026, while rapid and ultra-rapid chargers together made up about 24%.
• As of 1 April 2026, the UK had one public EV charger for every 17 battery electric vehicles.
• 5,119 public EV chargers were added to the UK network in 2026 as of 1 July, compared with 13,281 added by the end of 2025.

One charge point operator removed approximately 1,270 EV chargers from its publicly available data in June 2026, private access chargers that had been reported improperly as public, so the 2026 additions figure understates the true pace of new installations.

EV Battery Price Statistics

• Lithium-ion battery pack prices dropped 8% since 2024 to a record low of $108 per kilowatt-hour in 2025, according to BloombergNEF.
• Battery electric vehicle packs were the cheapest in the transport segment at $99/kWh, the second year below the $100/kWh threshold.
• Nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) packs averaged $128/kWh across all segments, well above the BEV pack average.
• Average battery pack prices were lowest in China, at $84/kWh, while pack prices in North America and Europe were 44% and 56% higher.
• Pack prices in China fell 13% in real terms from 2024, while North America and Europe saw declines of 4% and 8%.

The regional premium matters more to car buyers than the global average: a pack built for the European market costs 56% more than the Chinese equivalent, which is a large part of why Chinese brands can undercut local rivals.

Electric Truck Statistics

• In 2025, for the first time, electric truck sales outnumbered sales of LNG trucks in China, capturing over 25% of the truck market.
• Natural-gas-powered trucks held an unchanged 15% share of China’s truck market.
• Electric truck sales in Europe increased by 40% year-on-year in 2025, reaching nearly 17,000.
• Electric trucks accounted for 3% of all truck sales in Europe.

Conclusion

Electric car sales exceeded 20 million in 2025, and the IEA expects 23 million in 2026. The growth is concentrated in China, Europe, and emerging Asia, while the United States works through a post-credit correction, and in the EU battery-electric cars took most of the share petrol and diesel gave up, while hybrids kept the largest share.

The next markers to watch are whether US quarterly sales keep stabilizing, whether Europe reaches the one-in-three share the IEA projects, and whether falling battery prices finish closing the sticker gap without subsidies.