Europe led the expansion, with 2.5 million electric cars registered between January and September, up 42% from the same period in 2025, according to a study by PwC published on October 29. The figures cover 43 markets.
Germany recorded one of the sharpest increases. New registrations of fully electric cars climbed 58% to 604,000, placing the country third worldwide behind China and the United States. The gap between Germany and the US narrowed over the period.
The global market also set a quarterly record, with 4.3 million BEVs registered between July and September, a 16% increase from a year earlier.
In Europe’s five largest car markets, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, registrations rose 66% in the third quarter to more than 600,000. Electric cars accounted for a record 27% of new registrations in these markets. By comparison, vehicles powered exclusively by combustion engines lost ground, with registrations falling 27% and their market share dropping below 25%.
Germany recorded around 236,000 new electric car registrations in the third quarter alone. BEVs accounted for 32% of new registrations, overtaking conventional petrol and diesel cars, which together represented 29%.
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China remained the world’s largest market, with around six million BEVs registered in the first nine months, although growth stalled. The country nevertheless recorded 2.5 million registrations in the third quarter, its highest quarterly figure for that period. Fully electric cars reached a record 49% share of new registrations, while vehicles classified as new energy vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, accounted for almost 66% of registrations in September.
The United States moved in the opposite direction. BEV registrations fell 29% year on year to around 746,000 in the first nine months. Their market share dropped to 6% in the third quarter, following the expiration of federal tax incentives in September 2025. Hybrid vehicle sales, meanwhile, increased 26% to 649,000 during the quarter.
PwC attributed part of Europe’s stronger performance to higher fuel prices, which have made petrol and diesel vehicles more expensive to operate. The consultancy also noted that electric cars offer energy-cost advantages over conventional models in Germany, the United States and China.
