Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV (Source: Mercedes-Benz)
Global EV sales rose 9% in July, but the growth map couldn’t look more uneven.
Around 1.85 million EVs were sold worldwide last month, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. That brought 2026 sales through July to 11.5 million – up 4% from the same period last year.
Benchmark’s figures include battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids.
“The global EV market continues to be defined by regional divergence,” said Benchmark senior EV analyst George Whitcombe.
That’s putting it mildly. Europe and the Rest of the World delivered strong growth, while North America slid backward again. In China, BEV sales are actually up, but NEV sales are down overall because PHEV sales are dragging down the average.
RegionJul-26, milliony-o-ym-o-mYTD, millionsYTD-26 vs YTD-25China0.98-5%-7%5.9-12%Europe0.4533%-17%3.028%North America0.14-27%-1%0.90-18%RoW0.2897%-11%1.796%Global1.859%-10%11.54%
Europe is now the global EV market’s clear growth engine. Sales reached 450,000 in July, up 33% year over year, although they fell 17% from June during the region’s usual summer slowdown. Year-to-date sales hit 3 million, up 28%.
France led the surge with an 81% year-over-year jump and a record EV penetration rate of 37%. EV sales also climbed 46% in Germany and 43% in the UK.
Government support is doing a lot of the work. Several of Europe’s largest auto markets have brought back or expanded EV subsidies over the past 18 months. Spain, where EV sales are already up 34% this year, opened its new Auto+ incentive program on August 4. Buyers can receive up to €4,500 ($5,190), and applications can be made retroactively for purchases dating back to January 1.
The fastest growth came from the Rest of the World, where July sales nearly doubled to 280,000. Sales in those markets reached 1.7 million through July – up 96% year over year.
China’s EV decline needs an asterisk
China recorded 980,000 EV sales in July, down 5% year over year and 7% from June. Its year-to-date total of 5.9 million was down 12%.
But the headline decline doesn’t reflect a clear picture of EV buyers’ behavior in China. Benchmark groups BEVs with plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs, and those powertrains are moving in very different directions.
Electrek’s breakdown of China’s July sales found that BEV sales rose 6% year over year. Plug-in hybrid sales fell 21.1%, extended-range EV sales dropped 16.5%, and gas car sales plunged 44%.
So basically, everything with a combustion engine declined, while BEVs grew. China’s broader new energy vehicle category still reached a record 65.1% share of retail auto sales.
Chinese automakers are also increasingly looking overseas for growth. More than 500,000 NEVs were exported in July – another monthly record.
North America falls back
North American EV sales dropped 27% year over year to just 140,000 in July. Sales through the first seven months reached 900,000, down 18%.
The US showed some improvement in Q2, but July sales fell more than 30% year over year. Benchmark attributes the slump to the loss of federal EV support and a weakened regulatory environment, as well as a tough comparison with last summer’s buying rush before the federal EV tax credit was killed by the Trump administration on September 30, 2025.
Bottom line, global EV sales are growing, but it’s not broad-based growth. Europe and the Rest of the World are more than offsetting North America’s retreat, while China’s headline decline hides an accelerating shift away from anything with an engine.
Read more: IEA: Global EV sales jump 35% in Q2 and 50 countries set records
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