Global EV Sales
IEA July 2026 update (data through H1 2026) · Updated August 31, 2026
Electric cars were 24% of global new-car sales in the first half of 2026, one point higher than a year earlier, and the IEA expects 29% for the full year, about 23 million cars. The world average hides a spread: China is above 60%, the United Kingdom at 38%, the European Union above 30%, and the United States averaged about 7% after its federal purchase credit ended (U.S. monthly series). All figures on this page are quoted from the IEA report Electric Car Markets in a Time of Uncertainty (July 2026), which is published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
EV share of new-car sales by market
Shares as stated in the report text for the first half of 2026 (China: second quarter, with the full-year share expected above 60%; United States: average monthly share). Source: IEA, Electric Car Markets in a Time of Uncertainty, July 2026.
Sales grew through a shrinking car market
Global car sales fell about 5% year on year in the first half of 2026, driven by declines of over 20% in China and over 3% in the United States. Electric car sales held nearly flat against that backdrop: over 9 million were sold worldwide in the first half, with second-quarter sales 4% higher than a year earlier and 35% above the first quarter. Sales rose year on year in more than 90 countries.
The fastest growth came outside the established markets. In Australia, Brazil, India, Korea and Viet Nam, each now selling more than 100,000 electric cars a half-year, sales roughly doubled in March through June 2026 against the same months of 2025. Latin American sales more than doubled in the first half, India was up over 90%, and Southeast Asia up 75%. The report ties part of this to the 2026 energy crisis: several oil-importing countries introduced EV tax breaks, scrappage schemes and charging programs as fuel-security measures.
The Chinese export wave
Chinese domestic car sales fell over 20% in the first half of 2026, and exports absorbed much of the difference: car exports grew 65% year on year to over 5 million units, and electric car exports grew over 120%. Electric cars rose from about 35% of China's car exports in 2025 to more than 45% in the first half of 2026. The IEA estimates that over 1 million electric cars exported from China during the previous 18 months had not yet been registered as sales in any destination market, which it reads as inventory building up abroad; when and at what price those cars sell is an open question.
Where those exports land, they dominate: Chinese imports were about 90% of electric cars sold in South Africa in the first half of 2026, and Chinese brands hold almost 90% of Latin America's electric car market against less than 10% of its conventional-car market.
Incumbent carmakers hold the old market, not the new one
Carmakers whose business is mainly internal-combustion vehicles still account for about 98% of global ICE car sales, but only about 55% of electric car sales. Chinese manufacturers hold close to 25% of overseas electric car sales and about 60% of electric car sales across emerging markets other than China. The report projects that China and other emerging economies will represent almost 60% of global car demand over the next decade, which is why it treats success in those markets as the test of future market leadership.
Behind the share numbers sits a cost gap: the IEA puts Chinese battery-electric production costs about 35% below advanced economies, with batteries about 35% cheaper than in Europe and 30% cheaper than in North America in 2025.
Policy responses during the 2026 energy crisis
| Where | Announced | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2026-05-12 | Fuel resilience package with tax benefits for electric cars, kerbside fast-charger funding, and postal-fleet electrification |
| European Union | 2026-07-17 | Electrification Action Plan: public procurement, accelerated charging roll-out, vehicle-to-grid enablement |
| France | 2026-04-10 | Public electrification funding rising from EUR 5.5 billion to EUR 10 billion per year by 2030, including renewed social leasing for electric cars |
| Ireland | 2026-06-03 | ICE2EV pilot: EUR 5,000 for 2,000 applicants scrapping pre-2014 ICE cars toward a new battery-electric car |
| Netherlands | 2026-04-20 | Trade-in scheme for low-income buyers exchanging petrol or diesel cars for second-hand electric cars |
| California, U.S. | 2026-07-13 | New instant rebate program for zero-emission cars within a USD 600 million clean-transportation investment |
| Kenya | 2026-05-22 | Import duties waived for 100,000 EVs (presidential announcement) |
| Brazil | 2026-06-23 | Additional zero-tariff import quotas for CKD/SKD electric and hybrid vehicle kits for six months from July 1, 2026 |
Selected from the report's table of EV-related policy announcements made after the start of the conflict in the Middle East (February 28, 2026); the report lists further measures in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Viet Nam, Hungary, Spain, the United Kingdom, Rwanda and Chile.
How the U.S. series compares
The IEA counts electric cars (battery-electric plus plug-in hybrid) as a share of car sales; the U.S. series on our EV and hybrid sales page counts plug-in light-duty vehicles, a broader denominator that includes pickups and SUVs, from Argonne National Laboratory data. The two sources use different definitions but land in the same place for the first half of 2026: about 7% by either measure, roughly a third of the world average share.
Questions people ask
What percentage of cars sold worldwide are electric?
24% of global new-car sales in the first half of 2026 were electric (battery-electric plus plug-in hybrid), one point higher than a year earlier. The IEA expects about 29%, roughly 23 million cars, for the full year (IEA, Electric Car Markets in a Time of Uncertainty, July 2026).
What share of new cars in China are electric?
Over 60% in the second quarter of 2026, and the IEA expects the full-year share to exceed 60% for the first time, on about 13.2 million electric car sales, similar to 2025.
Why are Chinese EV exports rising so fast?
Domestic Chinese car sales fell over 20% year on year in the first half of 2026, and manufacturers shifted to export markets: total car exports grew 65% and electric car exports over 120%, taking electric cars to more than 45% of China's car exports. The IEA also estimates over 1 million exported electric cars had not yet been registered as sales anywhere, pointing to inventory build-ups abroad.
Is the United States behind the world in EV adoption?
In share terms, yes: the IEA puts the U.S. at about a 7% average monthly share in the first half of 2026, against 24% worldwide, after the federal purchase credit ended on September 30, 2025. The monthly U.S. series is on our EV and hybrid sales page.
Source and licence
All figures on this page are quoted from the text of: International Energy Agency (2026), Electric Car Markets in a Time of Uncertainty: An update to the Global EV Outlook 2026, IEA, Paris, July 2026. The report is licensed CC BY 4.0 (licence statement verified August 31, 2026, from the report itself). The IEA's chart data derive from third-party commercial sources (EV Volumes, Marklines) and are not reproduced here; this page quotes only figures stated in the report's text. The next scheduled edition is the Global EV Outlook 2027.