Global electric-vehicle sales fell 2% year over year to 2.15 million units in September 2026, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data cited by Reuters. The decline followed six consecutive months of global growth. China was a major drag: sales there dropped 18% from a year earlier to 1.11 million, although they rose 7% compared with August. The annual decline was steeper than August’s 11% fall.
China’s weakness extended across the first nine months of the year, when EV sales fell 13%. Plug-in hybrids were down 25% year to date, while battery-electric vehicles declined 6%. BMI said manufacturers maintained production despite weaker local demand, sending surplus vehicles abroad. China’s passenger new-energy vehicle exports reached a September record of 558,000 units. BYD’s global sales rose 17% that month, while exports of its passenger vehicles and pickups climbed 153.9% to 179,877.
Europe moved in the opposite direction, with September sales nearing 600,000, up 39% year over year and setting a new monthly record. Battery-electric sales rose 50% and plug-in hybrids 16%. North American sales fell 44%, partly because September 2025 had seen a rush to buy before the US federal EV tax credit ended. Across all regions, January–September sales totaled 15.5 million, up 3% year over year. BMI expects tougher competition abroad as Chinese automakers pursue export markets.