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2026's EV Sales Hit 1.1M - But Europe Surges While North America Slides (electrek.co) 144

Europe's EV sales for January and February spiked 21% from last year, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Electrek reports that just in those two months over 600,000 EVs were sold in Europe.

And figures for "rest of world" (which excludes Europe, North America, and China) are up a whopping 84% — with 370,000 EVs sold in January and February. (EVs now represent more than 30% of the vehicles sold in South Korea.)

But for the same period China's sales are down 26% from last year, with 1.1 million vehicles sold. And North America showed an even larger drop of 36% from the January/February figures in 2025, now selling just 170,000 electric vehicles, while Canada's EV sales were down 23%. EV sales seem heavily influenced by government incentives, with Germany and France leading Europe's growth: EV sales in Germany are up 26% so far this year, following the country's introduction of a new subsidy program at the start of 2026. France's market is up 30%, supported by its existing incentive program.

Italy is also seeing rapid growth. EV sales there jumped 23% month-over-month in February, making it the country's strongest month ever for EV sales. The Italian market is now up 98% year to date. That surge follows the Italian government's October 2025 launch of a new subsidy program, funded by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility, to increase EV adoption. Households can receive up to €11,000 ($12,700) in incentives, while smaller businesses can get up to €20,000 ($23,200)...

[T]he global EV transition isn't slowing, but it's becoming much more uneven depending on policy, incentives, and trade rules.

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2026's EV Sales Hit 1.1M - But Europe Surges While North America Slides

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  • Not for long. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Sunday March 15, 2026 @07:01PM (#66043162)

    The ever-present (false) claim that "EVs are too expensive" just died in the attack on Iran. With fuel costs headed nowhere but up and no end to the war in sight, even fools recognize that EVs are the smarter option.

    • Re: Not for long. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by fortfive ( 1582005 ) on Sunday March 15, 2026 @07:09PM (#66043174)

      They always were, if the retail price of ICE cars and fossil fuels reflected the unsubsidized costs plus all externalities.

      • EV's are probably still more expensive in the US and Canada.

        Not so in the developing world, though. Large Chinese EV manufacturers like BYD, Geely, Changan, and Chery now produce cars much cheaper than ICE cars of the same segment / price range.
      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Obviously. But in the US, some already too rich people always have to get richer and the voter is deep asleep.

      • No need for that. Many ICE cars fail in cost over EVs when analysed in full lifecycle cost over time. But people don't see that cost, they see a sticker price, not the cost of replacing a timing belt, oil changes, burning gasoline, etc.

    • EU here, we pay a lot more for fuel than in the US. I bought a car a year back. Went for a small Suzuki Swift, mild hybrid. Ideal for driving in the city. Did the math on an EV. It was at least 10k euro more expensive. I have an actual fuel consumption of 4.5l per 100 km. Gas is around 1.6 euro a liter today. So quick math yields that I can drive roughly 140 000km with that car for 10k euro. An EV is not yet an obvious choice.
      • Re: Not for long. (Score:5, Informative)

        by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Sunday March 15, 2026 @07:33PM (#66043218)
        Every country is different but I see in Ireland that a Suzuki Swift costs €22k. Meanwhile a Dacia Spring costs €19-23k, a Renault 5 €25k, a Hyundai Inster €19k, BYD Dolphin Surf €18-22k. The other cars are EVs. So I don't see how you can conclude that an EV is not an obvious choice when there are actually multiple obvious choices.
        • Renault is 30k.
        • Theres still a lot more to it than purchase price, unfortunately.

          When I was living in the UK, more than half the place I lived in would have had zero ability to charge an EV - the parking options were either on-road (and if you were lucky, within 3 streets of your house), or if you won the council lottery then you rented a garage within the local area. And no, you couldnt add an EV charger to the garage.

          Where I live now, I have off street parking and the ability to add an EV charger - I fully expect my nex

          • by DrXym ( 126579 )
            I'm sure there are other factors. But I'm directly responding to the point that somehow it's 10k more expensive to operate an EV over an ICE vehicle when the purchase price of a small EV is comparable these days.

            And while operating costs vary and private charging is vastly preferable - the costs of charging from a public charger aren't that much different to the cost of filling up a tank so that doesn't account for a 10k difference either. e.g. A small EV might expend 14 kWh per 100km and a public charger

        • by MikeS2k ( 589190 )

          The economics in the UK don't add up for me with no home charging. I can buy an ICE 1.2l second hand car for $5000 all the way down to $1500 if I needed to.
          An EV costs at least $10,000 for a second hand one. Chargers near me for fast charge - 70p a KWH. So to charge a typical battery would be $60 vs $30 of fuel for the same range. Or even less range if I want to use the heater in the cold UK winter. The slower charge costs around 40p so is on price parity with gas, but I'd have to sit at a charg

          • Lamp post chargers work fine. you are supposing everyone charges their car every day and that would be a problem with limited lamp posts. but a lot of people charge once a week/2 weeks. You need to get some more info on EV charging, the cables are locked into the car and the charger.
            • Bonus pain with slow chargers is if there's an issue with the charger (say it trips the circuit), the cable is locked into the charger.

              Now, I've personally never had this happen, but I know it's happened a number of times to colleagues.

          • Agree entirely with your broad point that commercial charging being too expensive.

            As an easy option to make it look somewhat better, 40p per kWh at Lidl for 50kW charging with no paid subscription is much better My nearest Tesla charger is 31p off peak. If I couldn't home charge, or use chargers like these conveniently, I'd probably pay for a subscription to Ionity for access to the faster chargers at 46p.

            Home charging is /so/ much cheaper, and I'd do that even off a 3pin plug, as 2-3kW charging when you'

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Looking at the Suzuki Swift pricing in the UK and The Netherlands, it's a few thousand cheaper than an MG S5, and about the same as an MG4, both full EVs.

        Obviously running costs will be much lower for the EVs, due to lower "fuel" costs and reduced maintenance/consumables. The S5 will do 500km on a charge. The S5 is a much nicer car than the Swift too, quieter and more refined, with some luxury features like a motorized tailgate and heated seats/wheel. Faster too, and has a decent autopilot which is great fo

        • MG announces 480 Kms on a charge. At best, that translates to around 400 in real life, and slightly above 300 in winter.

          As for the "obvious" lower running costs... Per kilometer running cost is lower if you charge at home, otherwise it isn't quite so obvious. And maintenance might be cheaper (emphasis on might) if compared to full dealership maintenance for ICE. But today, there's quite a number of things you can still do at a local garage with ICE. With EV, you essentially don't get that choice.

          • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            I'm seeing a worst case of 350 km in winter, in the rain, at night, with heating on, at 120 kph.

      • EU here, we pay a lot more for fuel than in the US. I bought a car a year back. Went for a small Suzuki Swift, mild hybrid. Ideal for driving in the city. Did the math on an EV. It was at least 10k euro more expensive. I have an actual fuel consumption of 4.5l per 100 km. Gas is around 1.6 euro a liter today. So quick math yields that I can drive roughly 140 000km with that car for 10k euro. An EV is not yet an obvious choice.

        https://chargingadvisor.com/gu... [chargingadvisor.com]

        If you’re gonna do EV dirty with facts, stick the whole fist in and don’t skimp on the lube.

        The Greed selling replacement batteries sure won’t.

        • Lube, fist, ....

          Try to behave, will you...

          • Lube, fist, ....

            Try to behave, will you...

            Bearing(s) in mind, most EV owners assume they don't require lube.

            I was merely providing a pubic courtesy and not-so-gentle reminder of how EV culture could come grinding to a halt without greasing up those battery warranties with some extensions. No one will be happy with paying 7 years on an EV loan, only to pay another 3-4 years on a battery loan.

    • You do realize most EVs in America are charged by electricity generated from natural gas, and that electric rates have gone up exponentially in the past few years compared to gas and diesel, right?

      • Do you have references for any of those claims?

        A quick search shows that California is by far the largest market for EVs in America with 35% of all EV registrations [theglobalstatistics.com] in the country. Also that the majority of California's electricity comes from renewables.

        I don't know what you mean when you say electricity rates have gone up exponentially. There was a large increase just in the last year due to tariffs and to Trump's policies to encourage export of natural gas, driving up the cost of domestic use. Those we

      • I have an EV. I spend way less on electricity to charge it than I did with gas in my old ICE car 2 years ago.

        • Can confirm. I was spending ~$500 a month in gas. Switched to an EV and I pay ~$70 a month in additional electricity. Unfortunately my workspaces doesn't have chargers so 95% of all my charging is done at home and most of that is overnight when it's cheapest.

      • Canadian here. Most (if not all) of our electricity (Hydro) comes from Nuclear. I pay around $0.04 / kWh for overnight charging - which is mostly when I charge. The on-peak cost is $0.39 / kWh is comparable to the Supercharger stations around me
    • Only if you don't already drive a hybrid. Living in California, a 50mpg hybrid (priuses tend to do better then that) is cheaper to "fuel" then charging an EV at $0.45 a kwh that SDGE charges. Now, I do hear if you can charge overnight at your home, you can get better off-peak rates specifically setup for EV users. Funny how power for EV is some how cheaper then power for the rest of my home...even on off-peak hours.

      Having done all the math in a prior post, until gas breaks $7.15, I'm better off driving my h

    • The ever-present (false) claim that "EVs are too expensive" just died in the attack on Iran. With fuel costs headed nowhere but up and no end to the war in sight, even fools recognize that EVs are the smarter option.

      From the ones stuck in a frozen EV in a Chicago winter trying to find an undamaged charger to the ones who don’t live a stones throw from work or even the city work is in, even EV junkies will realize the “solution” still has obvious downsides.

      Sometimes one has to be the smarter person and realize that cost isn’t the only reason you don’t buy one. That said, how many owners are ready for that battery pack asking for a second car loan? It’ll be fun justifying all that g

      • Up here in the vast frozen North, we have similar temps to Chicago. Now, it could very different in Chicago but I have no issues finding functional chargers in Ontario, Canada. Maybe a few times I've gone to a 12 stall charger station and perhaps 1 or 2 have been out but I've personally never had a problem finding a working Supercharger. Other brands e.g. FLO, Chargepoint are a different story. They seem to be out of service pretty often. I've driven from SW Ontario to Ottawa in January temps of -21C a
      • even EV junkies will realize the “solution” still has obvious downsides.

        Perfect is the enemy of good. If you want to live in a frozen tundra then you will have the pleasure of paying for the privilege.

    • by jmke ( 776334 )
      ah yes

      > With fuel costs headed nowhere but up and no end to the war in sight, even fools recognize that EVs are the smarter option.


      cause charging your EV with electricity will never come from anything other can fluffy clouds... LOL
      • It doesn't matter because it will still be less polluting than any ICEV on the road. Perfect is the enemy of good. You must not be very clever if you still hadn't figured that out.

  • Our last four car purchases have been EVs. We got our last lease in before the subsidies ended. We may buy off the lease. We'll see how things are in another couple years. On vacation right now with an ICEV. Such a turd, but at least... um... yeah... Chevy Malibu FTW.
    • Why did you pick an ICE if EVs are so great?

      • probably because they're on vacation and the rental place only had EV's.

        I know it's not for everyone but having owned 40+ cars in my lifetime, I can't ever see myself going back to an ICE voluntarily. My EV does everything my previous ICE cars did... and more.
        • Then you have very different EVs than I know about. A vehicle that takes 45 minutes to refuel can never do the same thing as one that takes 10 minutes. It's just too much different in time. You must have got one of the new solid state batteries that I have only read about in the news somehow.

          • Nope, I don't have one of those fancy solid state batteries. But I have been driving an EV for 2+ years now and 95% of the time, I charge at home. I travel ~100km each way to work and a single charge is more than enough to get me to work and back. When I'm driving to other places, I might have to stop at a Supercharger and that might take me ~20 mins but ... if I've been driving long enough to charge, I welcome the 20 min break to stretch my legs etc. It's a small price to pay to not have to pay for gas
      • I didn't choose the car. The rental management company did. I just paid the tax. Also, charging is a pain where we are. The nearest L3 is an hour away. That said, it would probably be fine with an EV. There is an L3 charger on the way back to the airport. If the rental companies didn't screw on charging costs or there was an L2 to use where we are, it would have been an easy yes.
  • So what I'm reading here is countries that have subsidies are showing increased sales of EVs while countries that have phased their subsidies out have seen fewer sales. Wow just wow. Who could of possibly seen that coming? /s

    • countries that have subsidies are showing increased sales of EVs

      Not only that, they also have demonstrations of people demanding the countries end those fossil subsidies.

  • Missing the mark (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RitchCraft ( 6454710 ) on Sunday March 15, 2026 @10:12PM (#66043428)

    EVs offered in the USA, in my opinion, are too over priced, too costly to repair, stupidly engineered, and are too over reaching concerning privacy. An EV I would purchase: $20K-$30K, no expensive sensors embedded every where around the car, knobs and dials on the dashboard please, no connection to the mother ship unless I explicitly authorize it for a software recall upgrade/update. You know, a nice Toyota Matrix (Pontiac Vibe) style car for the average American. 0 to 60 in 6 to 8 seconds is fine, 150HP is more than enough, around 200 miles on a charge is fine. A perfect around town and to work and back car. I'll use my ICE to go on longer trips if needed. When will car manufacturers figure this out?

    • by Jeremi ( 14640 )

      An EV I would purchase: $20K-$30K, no expensive sensors embedded every where around the car, knobs and dials on the dashboard please, no connection to the mother ship unless I explicitly authorize it for a software recall upgrade/update. You know, a nice Toyota Matrix (Pontiac Vibe) style car for the average American. 0 to 60 in 6 to 8 seconds is fine, 150HP is more than enough, around 200 miles on a charge is fine. A perfect around town and to work and back car. I'll use my ICE to go on longer trips if needed. When will car manufacturers figure this out?

      Dunno when American automakers will figure it out; I suspect Chinese manufacturers already have, but we're unlikely to see any of those here. In the meantime, the Slate [wired.com] might be something like what you're looking for.

      • by caseih ( 160668 )

        There's zero chance the slate will be under $30k. In fact it's very possible it will be as much as $50k by the time you outfit it with the features you want, such as air conditioning. I hope I'm wrong.

        • "I hope I'm wrong." ... Me too. I saw the Slate not that long ago and thought, "Hey, someone gets it!" But as far as I know it's still vaporware.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Does anyone make a fossil car that meets your requirements? The sensors are needed to get a decent safety rating, and some of them are mandatory now.

      Anyway, an MG S5 might suit you. You can disable all the stuff you don't like, all the sensors and the network connectivity. It's a couple of taps to do so, basically the most you can ask for with the legal requirements in place. Price is in your bracket, does 300 miles on a charge, and charges decently fast. Quiet, comfortable, has physical knobs for important

    • I don't know this "miles" of which you speak, but my Renault Scenic E-tech has a range of about 550 km at best, much less when it's cold. In theory it would take me from one end of Denmark to the other. I can't imagine anything less would suit the average American.
    • no expensive sensors embedded every where around the car

      What has that got to do with EVs? (Looks around and sees no ICE cars for sale without expensive sensors). Unfortunately your modern car comes with modern safety features.

      When will car manufacturers figure this out?

      What's there to figure out? The companies are profitable right now. That's what they care about.

    • Here you go. https://www.slate.auto/en [slate.auto]

      • I saw an episode of Jay Leno's Garage highlight this neat little vehicle. I wish them luck and hope that it indeed hits the mark.

    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      and are too over reaching concerning privacy.

      What do you think is subsidizing their manufacturing and operating costs?

      Although I suspect this is true of new ICE vehicles as well. I'm just drawing the line at a MongoDB ad popping up in my windshield.

  • by bobjr94 ( 1120555 ) on Monday March 16, 2026 @04:53AM (#66043686) Homepage
    They are getting tired of yo-yo gas pricing games. We got an Ioniq 5 over 3 years ago and it's been great. With 113k miles that's $20k of gas not boughten, maybe 375 times I didn't have to stop for gas, about 17 oil changes it hasn't needed.
    • They are getting tired of yo-yo gas pricing games. We got an Ioniq 5 over 3 years ago and it's been great. With 113k miles that's $20k of gas not boughten, maybe 375 times I didn't have to stop for gas, about 17 oil changes it hasn't needed.

      $20,000 of gas avoided in three years? Holy shit. In fairness, that's a wild outlier of a use case. I pretty seriously looked at an Ioniq a couple years ago, liked the car, but just couldn't get anywhere near cost parity with a gas vehicle even with a moderate use daily driver. We do about the "normal" US amount of driving, 10 thousand miles a year give or take, and the cost difference even with the EV subsidy was just way too high. I mean just back of the envelope, if you figure 24mpg fuel economy for the

  • I still wouldn't buy with a subsidy.
  • And who is building all these EVs? Because McKinsey is telling VWG to close all production in germany, and VWG and Porsche (on top!) have announced continuous mass-layoffs almost monthly now.

    Germany will be a masterclass for research for decades to come, how you can ruin a completely overly privileged country full of fantastic foundations that could guarantee continuous success, and somehow they managed to destroy, choke and erode it all.

    • The fact that an American consulting company is telling VWG not to produce EV does not meant that VWG will do it.

      Mercedes is making money on EVs.

      South Korea and China continue to produce EVs and make a profit on them.

  • Falling EV sales in China are misleading because EV market share has not declined. It's that all vehicle sales are down and EVs now make up a majority of the Chinese new car market.

I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated. -- Poul Anderson

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