Electric cars are no longer a niche experiment. Global electric vehicle sales climbed to a record 20.7 m in 2025, a roughly 20 percent jump that cemented battery powered models as a central pillar of the auto industry rather than a sideshow. Yet while most major regions are accelerating, one market that once styled itself as the home of automotive innovation is now dragging its feet.
The story of the EV boom is increasingly a tale of divergence. Europe, China and a growing cast of emerging economies are racing ahead, while North America, and particularly the United States, has become the stubborn outlier where growth has stalled or slipped into reverse. I want to unpack why that gap is opening, and what it means for carmakers, climate targets and drivers who are still on the fence.
Global EV demand is still climbing, despite the “slowdown” narrative
Talk of an electric car slump misses the basic arithmetic. Worldwide EV sales reached 20.7 m in 2025, with research group Benchmark Mineral Intelligence calculating that as roughly 20 percent year on year growth for Global EV demand. Separate data on Global EV registrations show volumes in December alone rising by 6 percent to almost 2.1 m units, pushing the annual tally to the same 20.7 m vehicles and underlining that the market ended the year on a high rather than in retreat, according to one detailed Global EV assessment. Analysts who dug into the numbers earlier this year concluded that, contrary to the popular impression of a plateau, EV sales growth actually continued to accelerate from the previous year, a point underscored in a separate Jan analysis that stressed sales were up “by a lot” and that this should not have been a surprise to anyone tracking the trend Not.
There are signs that the pace will cool from this breakneck clip, but that is not the same as a collapse. One blueprint for the sector notes that Global EV registrations increased 20 percent in 2025 but are expected to lose some momentum in 2026 as subsidies are tweaked and early adopter markets mature, with the same document highlighting that China, the world’s largest EV market, saw its weakest growth in several years even as volumes kept rising The Blueprint. Another overview of the coming year warns that electric vehicles have a bumpy road ahead in 2026 as automakers juggle pricing pressure, high borrowing costs and shifting government support, even while concept models like the Renault Vision 4Rescue 4×4 electric vehicle in Paris show how quickly the technology is advancing at the showroom level Electric Vehicles Have.
Europe, China and emerging markets are racing ahead
Outside North America, the pattern is remarkably consistent: EVs are gaining share, not losing it. One global tally found that Worldwide EV sales jumped 20 percent to a record 20.7 m, with Europe and China singled out as the main engines of that growth while America lagged behind Worldwide EV. A separate breakdown of Global EV trends described how Europe Keeps Plugging In, noting that across the Atlantic the mood could not be more different from the anxiety in the US as Europe sprinted ahead on the back of stronger subsidies, tighter emissions rules and a denser charging network that makes daily use far less of a gamble for drivers Europe Keeps Plugging. Earlier analysis of Global EV sales also highlighted that Europe was the fastest growing major region, with one Dec snapshot describing how Global EV volumes jumped 21 percent in 2025 as Europe surged while the US stalled, based on data compiled by EV and battery supply chain specialists Benchmar.
Beyond the traditional powerhouses, the rest of the world is starting to leapfrog. One Jan report on 2025 outcomes noted that in 2025, the rest of the world showed the highest growth elasticity, with sales soaring by 48% to 1.7 m units as new models and government incentives turned markets from Southeast Asia to Latin America into the next big frontier for EV makers 48%. Another analysis of the EV leapfrog described how Emerging markets are overtaking advanced economies like Japan, with India, Mexico and Brazil now posting a higher EV sales share than some richer peers as Chinese manufacturers and others find new markets outside the OECD for their lower cost models Emerging. Even countries that are not yet big EV producers, such as South Korea, are positioning themselves as key battery and component hubs, reinforcing the sense that the global supply chain is tilting toward electrification.
North America is the outlier where sales are slipping
Set against that backdrop, North America looks increasingly like the exception that proves the rule. One widely cited summary put it bluntly, stating that EV sales are up everywhere in the world except North America, with global volumes rising by 21 percent while sales in North America actually declined by about 1 percent over the same period North America. A discussion of the same data on an energy forum repeated that EV sales are up everywhere in the world except North America, underscoring how unusual it is for such a large and wealthy region to be moving in the opposite direction from the global trend Dec. Another synthesis of the numbers framed it as Global EV sales surging ahead while America actually went into reverse, a divergence that has already pushed some manufacturers to look more aggressively at overseas markets where demand is still growing Chris Chilton.
Under the hood of those regional figures, the US stands out as the main drag. One detailed forecast from S&P Global Mobility Reports noted that U.S. BEV Share is stuck at around 6%, and projected that 2026 Sales will Fall by 2.5% as the post incentive market collides with affordability strains and a cooling of electrified vehicle demand in the first half of the year Global Mobility Reports. Another snapshot of the US market described how sales in November plunged as buyers balked at higher interest rates and patchy charging coverage, a slump that fed into broader warnings that electric vehicles have a bumpy road ahead in 2026 unless policy support and consumer confidence can be rebuilt Bumpy Road Ahead. Even earlier in the cycle, a Jun review of US registrations flagged that EV registrations dropped 4.4% in April, marking the first year over year decline and hinting at the plateau that has since become more visible 4.4%.
Policy whiplash, price anxiety and infrastructure gaps are biting in the US
The reasons for North America’s hesitation are not mysterious, and they start with policy. Analysts who track Global EV trends point out that while registrations increased 20 percent in 2025, the outlook for 2026 is softer in part because of shifting incentives and regulatory uncertainty, with one forecast explicitly tying the expected slowdown to policy changes that are hitting the US harder than Europe or China Global EV. A more granular look at the same blueprint notes that China saw its weakest growth in years but still expanded, while the US faces a potential 29 percent slump in some scenarios if tax credits are pared back and charging investments lag, a contrast that helps explain why Europe and China are still booming while America is not BMI. The US electric vehicle motor market is still anticipated to grow at a CAGR of more than 17% over the medium term, according to one industry outlook, but that projection is heavily caveated by references to policy stability, the pace of EV adoption and even stable fossil fuel prices that can blunt the economic case for switching CAGR.
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