Global sales of electric vehicles totalled 2.15 million in September 2026, a 17% increase month-on-month, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
On an annual basis, EV sales were 2% lower in September, the data showed. In the year to date, some 15.5 million EV sales were recorded at a global level.
“Global EV sales rebounded in September, rising 17% month-on-month to 2.15 million units, though they were down 2% year-on-year as a sharper contraction in North America and a weaker domestic market in China outweighed record-breaking sales in Europe,” commented Charles Lester, data manager, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Europe hits new record high
Europe set a new monthly record for EV sales in September, with close to 600,000 units sold, surpassing the previous monthly high (set in June 2026), by 10%.
Sales in Europe increased 39% year-on-year and 62% month-on-month, taking European year-to-date sales to 3.9 million, up 30% on the same period in 2025.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) led the growth in Europe, with sales rising 50% year-on-year, while plug-in hybrid sales increased 16%. In the UK, EV sales grew more than 3.5 times month-on-month, however this also reflects a new registration plate change, which typically lifts the market each year. Elsewhere, France saw sales rise 78% year-on-year to almost 80,000, while Germany recorded a 61% increase to 117,000.
“The UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Finland all posted record monthly EV sales,” Lester noted.
Slowdown in China
China remained the world’s largest EV market, with 1.11 unit million sales in September. However, sales were down 18% year-on-year, meaning the market is 13% below 2025 levels on a year-to-date basis.
“China’s year-on-year decline widened to 18% in September as the domestic market remained weak,” Lester added. “Manufacturers have continued to hold production steady and send the surplus overseas, with passenger car NEV exports reaching a new monthly record of 558,000 units.”
Within China, plug-in hybrids have reported particularly weak sales, down 25% in the year-to-date, compared with a 6% decline for battery electric vehicles.
Of the major markets, meanwhile North America recorded the sharpest decline, with sales falling 44% year-on-year to 130,000 units. This is largely due to tough comparisons with September 2025, when US consumers brought forward EV purchases ahead of the expiry of the federal tax credit.
“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 Lester.
In terms of the rest of the world, meanwhile, the market outside China, Europe and North America continued to expand rapidly, with September sales up 81% year-on-year to 310,000 units and year-to-date sales up 93% to 2.3 million. Read more here.
Snapshot Electric Vehicle Sales YTD 2026 (Jan–Sep 2026)
| Region | Sep-26 (million) | YoY | MoM | YTD (millions) | YTD-26 vs YTD-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 1.11 | -18% | 7% | 8.1 | -13% |
| Europe | 0.60 | 39% | 62% | 3.9 | 30% |
| North America | 0.13 | -44% | -8% | 1.2 | -24% |
| RoW | 0.31 | 81% | 6% | 2.3 | 93% |
| Global | 2.15 | -2% | 17% | 15.5 | 3% |
Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
