The latest edition of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) Global Electric Vehicle (EV) Outlook 2026, expects that nearly 30% of all new cars sold globally this year will be electric.

Electric refers to plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars.

The IEA expects global electric car sales to reach 23-million units this year. Last year, global electric car sales grew by 20%, to exceed 20-million units, meaning that 25% of all new cars sold worldwide were electric.

In around 40 countries, electric cars accounted for 10% or more of new cars sold in 2025.

In terms of production, Chinese automakers supplied 60% of electric cars sold worldwide, says the IEA report, while European and North American automakers were each responsible for about 15% of global sales.

China remains the world’s largest manufacturing hub for EVs, producing nearly three-quarters of the almost 22-million electric cars produced globally last year.

As production outstripped domestic demand, Chinese electric car exports doubled to a record high of more than 2.5-million.

Outside of the three major EV markets of China, Europe and the US, 55% of the electric cars sold in the rest of the world were imported from China – up from less than 5% just five years earlier.

China also remains dominant in EV supply chains, accounting for over 80% of battery cell production last year, with even higher shares of production of key materials in EV batteries.

The IEA report also shows that policy changes in China and the US saw first quarter global electric car sales fall by 8% this year compared with the same period in 2025. However, this overall decline masked strong sales growth in numerous other countries and regions.

In Europe, sales increased by close to 30% year-on-year; in the Asia Pacific region (excluding China), sales jumped by 80%; and in Latin America, sales were up 75%.

In March, close to 90 countries around the world logged year-on-year sales growth, with around 30 of them registering record-breaking monthly sales.

The IEA report finds that EVs are increasingly cost-competitive in key markets, which could reinforce demand, including from consumers worried about volatile fuel prices triggered by global conflict.

By 2035, even without any new policy announcements, the global fleet of EVs (excluding two- and three-wheelers) is projected to surge as high as 510-million units, up from the nearly 80-million units today.

“Electric car sales set new records in close to 100 countries last year,” says IEA executive director Fatih Birol.

“The growing popularity of EVs has marked a major shift for car markets and the energy system as a whole, and it is providing some relief now amid the largest oil supply shock in history.

“Looking ahead, the falls we have seen in battery prices and the potential policy responses to the current global energy crisis are set to provide further momentum in EV markets.”

The IEA report finds that sales of electric trucks are also growing significantly, especially in China.

Global sales more than doubled in 2025 from the previous year.

Electric models accounted for nearly one in ten trucks sold worldwide last year.