“Falling technology costs, high fuel prices and policy direction are helping fully electric options gain a growing share of new car sales. Globally, BEV sales are up by 11% year-on-year for the first eight months of 2026 despite policy changes slowing EV uptake in the US and China, the two biggest markets in absolute terms. In contrast, sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have fallen by 12% and sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are down by 6%.

As a result, BEVs have climbed to 18% of new car sales globally for the first eight months of this year, up from 16% in the same period in 2025. In the same period, the global PHEV sales share has fallen from 8% of new car sales to 7%. At a global level, mid-year sales share figures for electric vehicles are lower than the full-year values, since China, which has a high EV share and accounts for a large proportion of global EV sales, typically sees a surge in new car registrations towards the end of the year.

Strong growth outside the US and China has been key to BEV sales continuing to rise globally. Excluding the US and China, global BEV sales have grown by an estimated 45% in January-August 2026, compared to the same period the year before. Of the 56 countries in Ember’s monthly EV sales tracker, 49 have seen a record battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales share so far in 2026.”

From Ember.