The global EV picture for the first third of 2026 is, on a cross-source basis, the cleanest growth story we have seen since 2023. Global EV sales reached approximately 11.2 million units in the first four months of 2026, a 26% year-on-year increase, with pure-EVs and plug-in hybrids combined accounting for 19.8% of all new vehicle sales worldwide (Recharged, 2026).
One in four new cars globally is now electrified
Pew Research published its 2026 cross-country analysis in late May: roughly 25% of new cars sold worldwide are now electric vehicles or hybrids (Pew Research Center, 28 May 2026). That 25% figure includes hybrids in the denominator. For pure-electric (BEV) alone, the share sits around 14-15% globally, with China dragging the world average up and the United States dragging it down.
Tesla vs BYD: the top spot changed hands in Q1 2026
For most of 2024 and 2025, BYD dominated the global pure-EV (BEV) table. That changed in Q1 2026. Tesla delivered 358,023 BEVs in the first three months of 2026, a 6.5% increase year-on-year. BYD recorded 310,389 pure EVs in Q1 2026, a 25% drop year-on-year (InsideEVs).
The caveat that matters: BYD still sold nearly twice as many cars overall as Tesla when you include plug-in hybrids and range-extenders in the count. BYD's Q1 NEV total was 695,772 units. Tesla's strength is concentrated in pure-battery, and that segment has stabilised while BYD's PHEVs absorbed the volume.
The IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 baseline
The IEA published its Global EV Outlook 2026 in May. Electric-car sales (BEV plus PHEV) are forecast to grow to approximately 23 million units in 2026, representing roughly one in four new cars sold globally (IEA Global EV Outlook 2026).
The IEA also noted that 2025 was the first year global electric-car sales crossed 20 million, a 20% jump on 2024 (Electric Cars Report, May 2026).
The China drag and the US drag
The 26% Jan-Apr 2026 growth masks two opposing pulls. China's NEV penetration kept climbing (62.5% in May per CPCA) but absolute volume is now soft, with May 1-24 retail down 11% YoY (CnEVPost). The US market is in its fourth straight monthly decline as tariff-driven pull-forward unwinds. Europe (Germany BEV 25.8%, UK BEV 26.2%, Ireland BEV 22.35% in April) is the steady growth engine.
What this means for OEMs through H2 2026
Three observations. First, Tesla's regained pure-EV crown is partly a story of BYD diversifying away from BEV into PHEV/REEV, not Tesla growing faster. Second, the European ZEV-mandate countries (UK at 26.2%, Germany at 25.8%) are now genuinely the rate-limiter on global pure-BEV share, since their share already exceeds the global average. Third, India's EV PV at +75% YoY is the small-but-fast story to watch through H2.
Open the Global dashboard on AutoNergy for the cross-country EV-share comparison, monthly bars, and the verified data feed from SIMI, SMMT, KBA, CAAM, JADA, SIAM and FADA.