It’s a bleak time for America’s electric car market. But zoom out and take a look at what’s happening in the rest of the world, and you quickly see that the U.S. is increasingly the odd one out. As the U.S. stagnates, the EV project is chugging along nicely pretty much everywhere else, according to a new, wide-ranging report out this week from the International Energy Agency.
Over 20 million plug-in cars were sold globally last year, including both plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles. That means 25% of new vehicles had a plug, a new record. About 5% of the global car fleet is now electrified.
The U.S. was far behind the average, with plug-in car sales coming in below 10% of the market. EV sales in the U.S. plunged in the fourth quarter and are likely to drop this year as car companies pull back production and as the loss of the $7,500 tax credit dings demand. It’s full-speed ahead in other regions, though:
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Something remarkable is happening outside of the top three car markets, in what the IEA calls “emerging markets and developing economies.” Last year, these smaller markets saw plug-in car sales boom by 80%. An influx of affordable Chinese cars is supercharging the electrified market in these countries, helping them lap the United States in EV adoption.
In the U.S., the IEA says, the plug-in share of the car market grew from 2% in 2020 to 10% in 2025. Compare that to the kind of growth that’s happening across smaller markets in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
The global growth story should continue, the IEA says. This year, plug-in sales should surpass 23 million and make up nearly 30% of the car market worldwide. That’s despite a slump in the States.
Source: insideevs.com
