Global demand mixed for EVs
Some 1.2 million EVs were sold globally last month, a drop of three per cent from January 2025 and a 44 per cent tumble from the number achieved in December last year.
The decrease was largely driven by January’s sales of such units falling in China by 20 per cent year-on-year and 55 per cent month-on-month to 600,000, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Europe and the rest of the world were the only areas to record annual increases, with sales in the former climbing 24 per cent from January last year to 320,000 and in the latter they rose 92 per cent to 190,000.
However, when compared with December, Europe’s figure last month was down 33 per cent while the rest of the world’s performance stayed flat.
The rest of the world’s annual growth was supported by significant uptake in Thailand, South Korea and Brazil.
Thailand’s EV sales more than tripled year-on-year to over 44,000 units in January 2026, a record month for the country.
North America suffered a double slump after shifting 90,000 EVs in January, which represented a year-on-year fall of 33 per cent and a drop from the previous month of 27 per cent.
Charles Lester, data manager, says the EV market entered 2026 with a “virtually unrecognisable landscape” compared to the same time a year ago.
“January brought with it two key changes to China’s EV market, with the introduction of a purchase tax for EVs, as well as a reduction in the generosity of its trade-in scheme for 2026,” he adds.
“The European market retained its position as the fastest-growing major market and it continues to be spurred on by the EU emission standards and, increasingly, the return of subsidy schemes to major markets.
“Europe’s strong growth is sharply contrasted by North America, with the region’s EV market undergoing a period of readjustment.
“In the US, vehicle manufactures are realigning investment and production plans following [Donald] Trump’s roll back on EV incentives from both the standpoint of consumers and manufacturers.”
Lester notes Ford, GM and Stellantis have all taken significant multibillion-dollar write-downs as they pivot their North American strategy away from EVs.
