Electric Vehicles Hit 25% of Global Car Sales in 2025

China remains the dominant EV market

China continues to drive the majority of global electric‑vehicle growth.

In 2025, around 13 million EVs were sold in China alone, and about 55% of all new cars sold in the country were electric.

This leadership stems from several factors:

• Strong industrial policy supporting domestic EV manufacturers
• Large‑scale battery production capacity
• Extensive charging infrastructure
• Highly competitive pricing for entry‑level electric cars

China’s scale means that developments there strongly influence the global EV supply chain, from batteries to vehicle exports.

Fastest EV growth outside China

While China dominates overall volume, the fastest percentage growth is happening in emerging markets.

Recent data show especially strong expansion in:

• Asia‑Pacific excluding China, where EV sales rose about 80% year‑on‑year in early 2026
• Latin America, where sales increased roughly 75%
• Europe, which still posted nearly 30% growth during the same period

Earlier IEA analysis also shows emerging markets accelerating quickly, with EV sales in Asia (excluding China) and Latin America jumping more than 60% in 2024.

Countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Brazil are increasingly important growth markets as lower‑cost EV models become available and charging networks expand.

IEA forecast for EV sales in 2026

The IEA expects another record year for electric vehicles.

Its latest outlook projects around 23 million EVs sold globally in 2026, representing close to 30% of all new car sales worldwide.

Even with economic uncertainty and policy changes in some markets, the underlying trend remains upward as more automakers electrify their fleets and consumers gain access to cheaper models.

How many EVs are already on the road?

The cumulative number of electric vehicles worldwide has expanded rapidly as annual sales accelerate. Today, the global EV fleet is approaching 80 million vehicles on the road, reflecting years of sustained growth in electric‑car adoption.

Because EV stock accumulates over time as new vehicles are added each year, the total number in use is expected to keep rising rapidly throughout the 2020s.

The bigger picture: EV growth is spreading globally

The most important shift in the EV market today is geographic diversification.

China still dominates global sales, but momentum is increasingly spreading to new regions. Emerging Asian economies, Latin America, and a steadily electrifying European market are becoming key drivers of the next stage of EV adoption.

If current trends continue, electric vehicles will move from a quarter of global car sales in 2025 toward roughly a third of new cars within the next few years—cementing their role as a central pillar of the future transportation system.