Global electric vehicle sales fell 2 per cent year on year to 2.15 million units in September 2026, ending six consecutive months of growth, according to data from UK research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Europe set a record for a single month, but not by enough to offset clear declines in North America and China. On a month-on-month basis, global sales rose 17 per cent.
Cumulative global electric vehicle sales from January to September reached about 15.5 million units, up 3 per cent year on year.
Europe’s record month
Europe sold close to 600,000 electric vehicles in September, up 39 per cent year on year and 62 per cent month on month, a record for a single month and 10 per cent above the previous record set in June 2026. Cumulative sales for the first nine months reached 3.9 million units, up 30 per cent year on year.
Battery electric vehicles drove the growth, with September sales up 50 per cent year on year, while plug-in hybrids rose 16 per cent. British sales more than doubled month on month, partly because the local number-plate change cycle lifts the market that month. French sales rose 78 per cent year on year to almost 80,000 units, and German sales rose 61 per cent to 117,000.
Charles Lester, data manager at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, said Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and Finland all set single-month records for electric vehicle sales in September.
China down 18 per cent
China remains the world’s largest electric vehicle market, but September sales fell 18 per cent year on year to 1.11 million units. Cumulative sales for the first nine months are 13 per cent below the same period in 2025, reflecting continued weakness in domestic demand.
Lester said the year-on-year decline widened in September as the domestic market stayed soft. Manufacturers kept production running and shipped part of the surplus output overseas. New energy passenger vehicle exports reached a record 558,000 units in September.
By powertrain, China’s plug-in hybrid segment was especially weak, with sales down 25 per cent over the first nine months, while battery electric sales fell 6 per cent over the same period.
North America’s steepest fall
North American electric vehicle sales fell 44 per cent year on year to 130,000 units in September, the largest decline of the year. The main cause is a high base. In September 2025 the United States federal purchase tax credit was approaching its expiry, which pulled buyers forward and inflated that month.
Lester said that from the fourth quarter of 2026 North America will be compared against the period of sharp decline that followed the removal of the tax credit, so year-on-year performance is expected to improve markedly.
Markets outside China, Europe and North America continued to grow quickly. September sales in those regions rose 81 per cent year on year to 310,000 units, and cumulative sales for the first nine months reached 2.3 million units, up 93 per cent year on year.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Gasgoo report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://auto.gasgoo.com/news/202610/19I70475303C101.shtml.