Global electric vehicle sales declined by 3 percent in January 2026.

According to the data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the global EV sales witnessed a significant decline of 3% Year-on-Year (YoY) in January 2026 dropping to around 1.2 million units of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The main reason for this decline is mainly due to less demand in China and North American markets, which is because of several policy changes and reduced benefits which has impacted the sales globally. One of the major reasons is rolling back of various regulations and incentives that supported the adoption of electric vehicles and increased demand initially.

At the same time, Hybrid vehicles have gained traction across various regions as consumers are finding a perfect alternative to traditional internal combustion engines and pure EVs. This could be due to low upfront costs and complex charging process, which has increased the demand for hybrids, as pure EVs are showing decline. 

China and North America impact Global Demand.

China, which is one of the largest EV markets in the world saw a major decline of 20% in January, resulting in the sales of under 6,00,000 units, which is the lowest monthly sales in two years. This is due to cancellation of government subsidies and implementation of new purchase tax that has shifted the interest of the buyer. 

Leaving the main markets aside, EV registrations have shown a rise of 92% in the rest of the world to just under 1,90,000 units, which is a record feat. This growth is largely due to the incentives in countries like Thailand and stronger demand in South Korea and Brazil markets. 

Europe & Rest of the World

Despite slower demand in major markets, Europe is the only region where electric vehicles have witnessed steady growth, rising approx 24% to just over 3,20,000 units in January. However, this is the slowest growth of rate in a year. 

The slower start to 2026 has already put financial pressure on some manufacturers. As per Reuters, global automakers with significant presence in the US market have booked around $55 billion in writedowns over the previous year as they are reevaluating their EV strategies in order to solve the slow demand and competitive pressures from ICE and hybrid powertrains.