Electrical industry Global electric car sales stagnate
Global sales of electric cars weakened in the first quarter. In 43 key markets analyzed by the consulting firm PwC, the number of electric cars sold was 1 percent lower than in the same period in 2025 at just under 2.7 million.
02.05.2026, 04:35
SDA
This is unusual - in recent years, the figures have always shown significant growth, with an increase of almost a third in 2025 as a whole, for example.
The development in China, by far the largest market, is decisive for the weak figures. At 1.32 million electric vehicles, PwC counted 20 percent fewer there than a year ago. In the USA, the decline was even greater at 23 percent to just under 233,000.
Growth in other parts of the world was unable to compensate for this development, even though sales in Europe - more precisely in the EU plus the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland - rose by 26% to just under 724,000 cars. This was driven by strong sales in Germany and France, among others.
Record market share
Despite the decline in absolute figures, however, electric cars have continued to gain in importance worldwide - partly because sales of pure combustion engines were significantly stronger with a drop of 8 percent. According to PwC, the market share of electric cars was 16%, higher than ever before in a first quarter.
PwC also assumes that the decline in China is mainly due to one-off effects such as reduced incentive premiums. The trend there is already pointing upwards again. The management consultancy therefore assumes that sales of pure electric vehicles will increase again in the second quarter.
The environment is difficult, but European manufacturers have caught up, said PwC partner Harald Wimmer. "Their new models are technologically mature and meet customers' tastes. In their home markets, this is already reflected in rising sales volumes, which could be further supported by a potential surge in demand due to the current fuel price." However, he believes that European car manufacturers still need to take action on costs and the speed of innovation.
