-
In 2025, BEVs accounted for 17.3% of global passenger car sales, up from 13.8% in 2024. More than 13.6 million units were sold, with the total rising to 14.4 million units if BEV LCVs are included. Sales of LV FHEV and PHEV stood at 7.3 million units and 5.7 million units, respectively.
-
However, in January-February 2026, global BEV sales fell 9% year-on-year to 1.41 million units, down from 1.55 million units during the same period in 2025. This was primarily due to continued weakness in the US plug-in vehicle market, in addition to weak NEV market and demand in China.
-
After reaching 20% in the last two months of 2025, the share of BEVs in global passenger car sales fell to 13.1% in February 2026.
-
The only electrified technology that has made solid progress so far in 2026 is the FHEV, which is approaching 12% of global passenger car volume.
-
PHEV sales also lost momentum in January-February, again largely due to the slowdown of NEVs in China.
-
The slowness of the Plug-in sector is fundamentally a problem for China, considering that it dominates volumes in the country. However, there are encouraging signs that the industry is regaining momentum. The European BEV market continues to advance, with sales of the big five PV BEVs increasing 47% year-on-year in March, while early indicators suggest that NEV sales in China recovered during the month to levels seen a year earlier, reversing the downward trajectory of January and February.
-
The US supplement market remains at a low “new normal” level, but does not appear to be sinking further.
Electrified sales by region: update and outlook
-
Europe: Full year 2025 saw LV BEV sales across Europe of just under 2.94 million units, a significant increase from 2024’s result of 2.25 million. Electrification, from MHEVs to BEVs combined, grew to 9 million units in 2025, up from 7.5 million units in 2024. Momentum has generally been maintained in 2026, although the growth rate BEV growth of 30% in 2025 slowed in the first two months of the year. We don’t have complete data for March yet, but it appears to have been a strong month for BEV demand, bringing the year-to-date growth rate close to 30% once again. Chinese brands continue to make progress, although results are mixed and limited by a lack of brand awareness in many markets; Germany is a clear example of this headwind. The UK is more tolerant, mainly due to its lower tariffs, and in March a Chinese model, the Jaecoo 7, became the best-selling model overall.
-
US: The malaise that gripped the US low-voltage plug-in vehicle market in October 2025 has persisted into 2026. BEV share has fallen by around a third and is now stable at 6-7% of total PV sales (all sales excluding pickup trucks and vans). Growth turned negative in October (-40% year-on-year) and has remained at that level since. Gasoline prices in the United States have taken a significant hit in percentage terms since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, but this is compared to a relatively low base and is more likely to stimulate the full hybrid market than the plug-in market, where prices remain relatively high now that the tax credit mechanism has been removed.
-
Porcelain: The share of NEVs in China’s passenger car sales fell from 55% at the end of 2025 to less than 40% in February 2026. Key factors behind the drop include the demise of the long-running price war, a less generous and slow-to-implement NEV incentive regime, and a government decision that OEMs should focus on quality over quantity, meaning NEV prices have increased. However, we do not expect NEV sector growth to stabilize and March already looks healthier than January and February on a year-on-year basis, now that the revised incentive scheme is rolled out across the country and buyers are more confident that available cost savings can be recouped. However, China is unlikely to reach the NEV growth rate seen in 2025 (+18% YoY, +2 million units). The BEV growth figure was higher at 31% year-on-year, but a single-digit figure is more likely to be reached in 2026.
