Global electric car market grows more slowly – 6.6 million new BEVs in the first half

Europe recorded the strongest growth. In the combined markets of the EU, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, PwC counted just under 1.6 million BEVs – an increase of 33 percent compared to the same period last year. In this region, electric cars reached a market share of 22 percent of new registrations. According to PwC, France, Italy and Germany grew particularly strongly, with Germany once again the largest single market in Europe, ahead of the United Kingdom and France.

While the European market grew vigorously, the two largest single markets worldwide developed significantly more weakly. In the US, new BEV registrations fell to 460,000 vehicles in the first half. According to PwC, this corresponds to a decrease of 22 percent compared to the same period last year. Electric cars in the United States accounted for only a six percent market share of the entire vehicle market.

Weakness in the US and China

In China, by far the largest single market for electric cars, the number of new registrations also declined. According to PwC, the world's by far largest electric car market shrank by 5 percent in the first half to just under 3.6 million BEVs. At least in the second quarter, things picked up slightly again. Because the overall market shrank in parallel, pure electric vehicles accounted for 44 percent of new registrations there in the second quarter.

Harald Wimmer of PwC sees the development primarily as a maturation process of the market. Entscheidend ist jedoch vor allem die technologische Reife der aktuellen Modellgeneration: hohe Reichweiten, wettbewerbsfähige Preise und klare Vorteile bei den Betriebskosten. Das verändert die Marktlogik nachhaltig. At the same time, he pointed to external factors: Die Ölpreisentwicklung wirkt wie ein externer Beschleuniger für die Verbreitung der Elektromobilität.

Analysts divided on Volkswagen share

Analysts assess the development at Volkswagen differently. On 24 July 2026, Bernstein Research rated the Volkswagen preference shares with a "Market-Perform" rating. Just three days later, on 27 July 2026, Deutsche Bank AG recommended the shares with a "Buy" rating. 24.07.26 | Volkswagen (VW) vz Market-Perform | Bernstein Research sowie 27.07.26 | Volkswagen (VW) vz Buy | Deutsche Bank AG.

Overall, the PwC survey shows that electromobility has established itself as a fixture in Europe, but has come under pressure in the two leading markets of the US and China. The analysts see the slowed global growth as a transitional phase, driven by the increasing market maturity of BEV technology and fluctuating framework conditions.

Outlook for the second half of the year

460,000 BEVs in the first half represents a decrease of 22 percent – that is how PwC summarizes the situation in the US. For the full year 2025, PwC had previously still registered global growth of almost one third, before the trend noticeably weakened in the first half of 2026.

In the second half of the year, momentum could pick up again, according to PwC, when new models come onto the market and the operating cost advantages over combustion engines move more into the foreground. An increase in fuel prices could also further reinforce the competitive advantage of electric cars.

For the German automotive industry, which with Volkswagen has a central player in the European BEV market, Europe thus remains the most important sales market. The opposing assessments of the two major houses Bernstein Research and Deutsche Bank show that further market developments are being assessed differently.