Europe’s EV Sales Record Lifts September Global Total to 2.15 Million
Europe posted its strongest EV month yet, helping lift global sales 17% from August as China and North America remained weaker year over year.
Europe supplied the clearest growth signal in September’s global electric vehicle market. Its record month helped push worldwide sales to 2.15 million, up 17% from August, even as the global total remained 2% below September 2025. The split matters: a strong European market and rising exports from China are helping counter weakness in two of the industry’s largest regions.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence put sales for the first nine months of 2026 at 15.5 million, 3% above the same period last year. The regional picture is sharply uneven. Europe’s year-to-date sales are up 30%, while China is down 13% and North America is down 24%. Sales in the rest of the world rose 93% year to date, reaching 2.3 million.
| Region | September sales, millions | Year over year | Month over month | 2026 to date, millions | Year to date vs. 2025 |
| 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% |
| Rest of world | 0.31 | 81% | 6% | 2.3 | 93% |
| Global | 2.15 | -2% | 17% | 15.5 | 3% |
Europe sets the pace
European sales reached almost 600,000 in September, 39% higher than a year earlier and 62% above August. The total exceeded the previous monthly high, set in June, by 10%. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) did most of the work: their sales rose 50% year over year, compared with 16% growth for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
Several national markets also reached their highest monthly totals: the UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Finland. France sold almost 80,000 EVs, a 78% annual increase, while Germany climbed 61% to 117,000. In the UK, sales more than tripled from August. The usual September registration plate change contributed to that month-to-month jump, so the annual comparison gives a steadier view: EVs held roughly 40% of new-car sales, broadly unchanged.
That combination of a record regional total and a stable UK share points to sustained scale, alongside the effect of calendar patterns on individual monthly figures. Europe’s year-to-date growth edged up from 29% at the end of August to 30% through September. The remaining months will show whether the region can maintain that pace beyond a record-setting month.
China leans harder on exports
China sold 1.11 million EVs in September. That was 7% more than in August but 18% fewer than a year earlier, widening the annual decline from 11% in the previous month. For the year to date, sales were down 13%. PHEVs fell 25% against the same period in 2025; BEVs performed better, with a 6% decrease.
At the same time, manufacturers are finding more buyers outside China. Passenger-car new energy vehicle exports hit 558,000 in September, a record. That export strength offers a route to growth while domestic demand is soft, though the figures alone don’t show how much exported volume can offset the home-market decline.
Two changes could shape the economics of that route from 2027. A proposed EU-China arrangement would cap imports of Chinese-built BEVs and PHEVs at 350,000 a year for four years, subject to approval by EU member states. The cap would rise 6% annually from its second year. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence says Chinese-made vehicles accounted for about 14% of PHEVs sold across the EU, EFTA and UK in 2025; the share reached 29% year to date in 2026.
China is also set to lower its export VAT rebate for new energy vehicles from 13% to 9% on April 1, 2027. That could raise export costs and narrow overseas margins, just as manufacturers face intense competition at home. How companies adjust pricing, production and destination markets will be worth watching as these changes approach.
North America’s comparison is unusually tough
North American sales fell to 130,000 in September, down 44% year over year and 8% from August. The region’s year-to-date decline widened to 24%, from 21% at the end of August. Those numbers need context: September 2025 was the last month before the US federal EV tax credit expired, and some buyers moved purchases forward to qualify.
That buying surge created an unusually high benchmark. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expects annual comparisons to improve from the fourth quarter of 2026, when sales will be measured against the weaker months after the credit ended. A narrower decline would reflect that easier comparison as well as any change in current demand; it won’t, by itself, establish that the market has returned to growth.
What the sales mix says
September’s rebound in the global monthly total sits alongside a small annual decline, and the distinction is useful for reading the market. Europe added volume quickly, China remained the largest region at 1.11 million despite its annual drop, and North America’s result was weighed down by last year’s purchase timing. Meanwhile, the rest of the world’s 81% annual increase and 93% year-to-date gain show that growth is spreading beyond the largest established markets.
For manufacturers, the figures underline the value of matching vehicle supply to very different local conditions: Europe’s fast expansion, China’s export push and North America’s unsettled demand. Global sales are still ahead of 2025 through September, but the next few months will test whether European momentum and overseas sales from Chinese makers can keep that lead growing.
Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. See also: EV sales coverage, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence coverage and North American EV sales in Q3 2026.
