Global electric car sales passed 20 million in 2025, up about 20 per cent on 2024, and reached a quarter of all new cars sold worldwide. The International Energy Agency published the figures in its Global EV Outlook 2026. The regional picture underneath that total moved in different directions.
- Global electric car sales, 2025
- More than 20 million
- Growth on 2024
- About 20%
- Share of the world car market
- 25%
- China
- More than 13 million, almost 55% share
- Source
- IEA Global EV Outlook 2026
What changed
The IEA reports that electric car sales topped 20 million globally in 2025, growing by 20 per cent from 2024, and that the sales share of electric cars in the overall car market increased to 25 per cent.
The three largest markets moved differently. The IEA puts Chinese sales above 13 million for the year, with an electric share of almost 55 per cent. European sales reached 4.2 million, a million more than the previous year, at 28 per cent of all new cars sold. Sales in the United States were "slightly lower than in 2024, at around 1.5 million", or around 10 per cent of that market - lower than the year before, against growth in the other regions the IEA breaks out.
Outside those three markets, sales reached 2 million in 2025, up from 1.3 million the year before.
What it means if you're buying or selling
These are global new-car sales, not Australian ones, and they say nothing directly about what a used car is worth here. What they describe is the size of the pipeline: cars sold new in 2025 become the used stock of the late 2020s and early 2030s in the markets that bought them.
For an Australian comparison, the FCAI put battery electric vehicles at 21.7 per cent of new sales in July 2026. We could not confirm from the IEA page whether its "electric car" count includes plug-in hybrids alongside battery-electric cars, so the two figures should not be read as like for like.
If you are weighing up what to buy next, our guide to electric, hybrid or petrol sets out how the three compare for an Australian driver.
Global sales share is not a guide to local resale value: what a used EV fetches in Australia depends on local supply, warranty terms and battery condition, not on how many were sold overseas.