Europe Posts Record EV Sales as North America Drops 44% — SkimNews
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- Europe sold nearly 600,000 EVs in September, up 39% year-over-year and 10% above the previous record set in June, with BEV sales jumping 50% versus 16% growth for PHEVs.
- France posted its highest-ever monthly EV sales, up 78% year-over-year to roughly 80,000 units, while Germany rose 61% to 117,000; the UK, Spain, Portugal, and Finland also hit all-time monthly highs.
- North American EV sales fell 44% year-over-year in September to about 130,000 — the steepest 2026 decline — but Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data manager Charles Lester cautioned the figure is distorted because September 2025 was the final month before the US $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired, and smaller declines ahead will reflect easier comparisons, not a true recovery.
- China remained the largest single EV market at 1.11 million units in September, up 7% month-over-month but down 18% year-over-year, with year-to-date PHEVs down 25% and BEVs down 6%; CPCA data showed Chinese gas car sales fell 43% year-over-year to 534,000, so falling EV sales don't reflect a return to combustion.
- Chinese automakers pushed passenger-car exports of new energy vehicles to a monthly record of 558,000 in September, but face two 2027 headwinds: an EU–China deal capping Chinese-built BEV/PHEV imports at 350,000 (rising 6% annually), and China's cut of its NEV export VAT rebate from 13% to 9% effective April 1, 2027.
- Rest-of-world markets (outside China, Europe, and North America) saw September EV sales rise 81% year-over-year to roughly 310,000, with 2.3 million sold year-to-date — nearly double North America's 1.2 million total — making them a substantial growth driver.
Why it matters: European and emerging-market demand is now driving global EV growth, with Europe at a record and rest-of-world volume nearly double North America's year-to-date total, while China's export pivot (558,000 NEVs in September) faces an EU import cap of 350,000 vehicles and a domestic VAT rebate cut taking effect April 1, 2027 — reshaping which markets matter for EV manufacturers' volume.
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