Global EV sales rose in July – except in North America

Global EV sales climbed 9% in July, but the gains are not spread evenly around the world, and North America is the region falling behind. Worldwide, about 1.85 million electric vehicles were sold last month, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, bringing the 2026 total so far to 11.5 million, up 4% from last year. That figure includes both fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

Europe is now driving most of the growth, with July sales up 33% year over year and 3 million sold so far this year, up 28%. France, Germany, and the UK all saw big jumps, helped by government subsidies. Spain just opened a new incentive program offering up to €4,500 (about $5,190) toward an EV purchase, with applications allowed retroactively back to January. China's overall numbers look weaker, down 5% in July, but that's because plug-in hybrid and gas car sales are dropping fast while fully electric vehicle sales actually rose 6%.

North America is the outlier in the wrong direction. EV sales here fell 27% year over year in July, and are down 18% for the year so far. Analysts point to the loss of the federal EV tax credit, which ended in September 2025, along with a weaker overall policy push for electric vehicles, as the main reasons. For homeowners weighing an EV purchase alongside things like home charging setups or solar, it's worth knowing that federal incentives that once made EVs cheaper are no longer part of the calculation, unlike in Europe where subsidies are expanding.