Global demand for electric vehicles fell 2% in September, ending six consecutive months of growth, Reuters reports, citing new data from UK-based research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. But the headline number hides a market that’s now moving in three directions at once.
The raw figures: 2.15 million EVs sold worldwide in September, with year-to-date volumes still up 3% at 15.5 million units. The real story is the regional split underneath.
Europe just had its strongest month ever
Europe sold nearly 600,000 EVs in September — an all-time record, roughly 10% above the previous high set in June, BMI data manager Charles Lester told Reuters. Strong consumer demand plus supportive policy are doing the heavy lifting: high pump prices and government incentive schemes have European EV sales running roughly 29% ahead year-to-date, and the rest of the world’s EV sales have nearly doubled this year, per the same data provider.
North America’s 44% plunge is mostly a calendar trick
The steepest decline came in North America, where sales dropped 44% — the sharpest monthly fall of the year. But context is everything: September 2025 was a frenzy month, with buyers rushing to dealerships before federal EV tax credits expired at the end of that month. Comparing against that spike makes this September look far worse than it is. Lester says the year-over-year comparisons will ease from the fourth quarter as the data laps the post-credit slump.
Meanwhile in Cars & EVs: US EV sales actually rebounded in Q3 2026, per Cox Automotive data — the September dip is a hangover, not a verdict.
China keeps sliding — and exporting harder
Sales in China fell 18% to 1.11 million vehicles as the domestic market stays weak. The response, per Reuters: Chinese carmakers are leaning even harder on exports. Reuters’ Open Interest column noted in September that Chinese brands are already shipping record numbers of EVs abroad — a dynamic that puts downward pressure on prices in Europe and other import markets.
Also in Cars & EVs: Tesla’s Q3 2026 delivery numbers show how the biggest US player is navigating the same chop.
Why this matters
Read the overnight rewrites and you’d think EV demand is collapsing. The numbers say something sharper: this is a map of where policy still exists. Europe has subsidies and expensive gasoline, and its EV market is thriving. The US removed its federal credits, and the resulting base effect looks brutal on a chart — until you remember what it’s measured against. And China’s domestic weakness is becoming everyone else’s price advantage, as export-dependent Chinese brands compete harder abroad.
For American shoppers, the practical takeaway is simple: fourth-quarter comparisons get easier from here, inventories are normalizing, and the deals on dealer lots are about to look very different than they did a year ago.
