Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles projected to reach 30 percent of global car sales in 2026

The International Energy Agency said nearly 30 percent of cars sold globally in 2026 will be electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. The forecast follows an 8 percent decline in worldwide EV sales during the first quarter of 2026. The drop occurred mainly because of policy changes in China, the largest market, and the United States.

Beijing produced nearly three-quarters of electric cars worldwide in 2025 and doubled its EV exports to a record level. In the United States, first-quarter EV sales stayed flat compared with the previous quarter and fell 23 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to Rhodium Group’s Clean Investment Monitor.

European sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids are expected to reach one in three cars sold in 2026. Sales across Asia-Pacific excluding China and Latin America are projected to increase by more than 50 percent and 45 percent, respectively.