Global EV sales growth likely to slow after 20% jump in rocky 2025: Research firm
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BMI expects 23.9 million EVs will be sold globally in 2026, with growth accelerating in China but slowing in Europe and the rest of the world.
PHOTO: AFP
Gdansk, Poland - Global electric vehicle (EV) registrations grew 20 per cent in 2025 but are likely to lose pace in 2026, data showed on Jan 14, as a slowdown in China and a relaxation of electrification targets worldwide led in December to the smallest sales increase since February 2024.
Monthly registrations of electric vehicles, including battery electric and plug-in hybrids, dropped further in North America after the end in October of an EV tax credit scheme in the US, consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) said.
Radical policy shifts, including US President Donald Trump’s U-turn on electrification
Rising competition in Europe and cooling demand in China are likely to intensify the debate between electrification proponents who emphasise the need to curb planet-warming CO2 emissions, and carmakers who say a quick transition threatens jobs and profits.
Global EV registrations, a proxy for sales, rose 6 per cent to almost 2.1 million units in December, reaching 20.7 million vehicles in 2025, the data showed.
They were up 2 per cent in China to more than 1.3 million, the lowest year-on-year increase since February 2024, leading to a 17 per cent increase to 12.9 million units in 2025. The country produced 71 per cent of EVs sold worldwide.
North American registrations fell 39 per cent in December to just over 100,000 cars sold, following similar declines in October and November at the end of US tax credits. They were down 4 per cent for whole of 2025.
Europe was up 34 per cent in December to over 450,000 registrations and 33 per cent for 2025, while in the rest of the world sales were up 41 per cent to over 160,000 units in December, and 48 per cent for the year.
BMI expects 23.9 million EVs will be sold globally in 2026, a 15.7 per cent increase, with growth sharply accelerating in China to 21 per cent and slowing in Europe and the rest of the world to 15 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively.
It forecasts a sharper drop of 23 per cent in North America due to a 29 per cent slump in the US. REUTERS
