Europe’s EV sales soar as North America drops 44% – here’s the catch

Europe’s EV sales just posted a record September, as global market growth shifts toward Europe and beyond its largest established markets.

Almost 600,000 EVs were sold in Europe in September, up 39% year over year, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Globally, sales reached 2.15 million, up 17% from August but down 2% from September 2025.

That brings worldwide sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) to 15.5 million through September, up 3% from the same period last year. But where those EVs are selling tells a much more interesting story.

Europe hits a new EV sales record

Europe’s September total beat its previous record, set in June, by 10%. BEVs did most of the heavy lifting: Their sales jumped 50% year over year, compared with 16% growth for PHEVs.

The UK, France, Spain, Portugal, and Finland all posted their highest monthly EV sales ever. France’s sales climbed 78% year over year to almost 80,000, while Germany’s rose 61% to 117,000.

UK sales were more than 3.5 times August’s total, although there’s an important point to take into account: September’s new registration plates give the entire British car market a seasonal boost. EVs’ share of UK sales stayed roughly flat from August at around 40%.

Across Europe, EV sales rose 62% month over month as buyers returned after the summer slowdown. Through September, the region has sold 3.9 million EVs, up 30% year over year.

North America’s 44% drop needs some context

North America went the opposite direction. September EV sales fell 44% year over year to around 130,000 – the region’s steepest percentage decline of 2026. Sales also slipped 8% from August.

But that headline number comes with a big caveat. September 2025 was the final month before the US federal $7,500 EV tax credit expired, so buyers rushed to buy EVs before the deadline. This September is being measured against that huge sales month.

That doesn’t erase the region’s struggles, though. North American EV sales totaled 1.2 million through September, down 24% from a year earlier. But Benchmark cautions against reading the September percentage as a sudden new collapse in demand.

“From the fourth quarter, the comparison will be against the months immediately after the credit’s removal, when US EV sales collapsed, so the year-on-year picture should improve markedly,” said Charles Lester, Benchmark’s data manager.

In other words, smaller declines later this year won’t necessarily mean sales have recovered – the comparison will just be less stark.

China’s automakers look overseas

China is still by far the largest EV market, with 1.11 million sold in September. That’s up 7% from August, but down 18% year over year, a deeper decline than August’s 11% drop.

Through September, China’s EV sales totaled 8.1 million, down 13%. PHEVs account for much of that weakness: Their sales are down 25% this year, compared with a 6% decline for BEVs.

Chinese gas car sales are down 43% year-on-year to 534,000 units in September 2026, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). So falling EV sales don’t mean drivers are buying gas cars.

Chinese automakers have kept production steady and sent more vehicles abroad. Passenger car exports in China’s new energy vehicle category reached a monthly record of 558,000 in September.

But two policy changes could make that export strategy tougher next year. An EU–China agreement, still subject to member-state approval, would cap imports of Chinese-built BEVs and PHEVs at 350,000 in 2027. The four-year arrangement would raise the cap by 6% annually after its first year.

China will also cut its export VAT rebate for new energy vehicles from 13% to 9% on April 1, 2027, reducing the tax refund available to exporters.

The rest of the world keeps growing

Outside China, Europe, and North America, September EV sales rose 81% year over year to around 310,000.

Those markets have bought 2.3 million EVs so far this year, up 93%. That’s nearly twice North America’s total – and a substantial source of growth.

Read more: EV sales are booming in Europe – and plunging in North America

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