Electric car statistics and data 2026: UK insights and global trends

Electric vehicles (EVs) have moved beyond a niche transport solution and entered the mainstream market. But there’s still a long way to go before electric power overtakes petrol or diesel power in every new car and van market across the world.

With the European Union relaxing its 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars with new emissions rules, are we going to see a change of course?

Our electric car guide analyses the growth of the EV market with all the key electric vehicle data and projections, including UK market insights and global statistics.

UK electric vehicle statistics – How many EVs were sold in 2025?

• In the UK, up until the end of November, 426,209 electric cars were registered. That marks a 26% increase over 2024.
• Electric car market share sits at 22.7% of the total new car market in the UK, up from 18.7% in 2024. It’s the second largest share of fuel type after petrol cars (47%).
• Wih the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate setting a 28% EV sales target share for manufacturers in 2025, November’s new car registration figures hit 26% - just short of the end-of-year target.
• Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars made up 11.1% of the new car market to date in 2025, up nearly 35% from 2024.
• For electric vans, 25,116 EVs below 3.5 tonnes have been sold in 2025 until the end of November. That’s a 45.7% increase over 2024.
• Electric van market share in the UK sits at 8.7%, with diesel still dominating the sector at 79.6%.
• There are over 1,750,000 fully electric cars on UK roads, which makes up around 5.2% of the roughly 34 million cars on UK roads.

(Data from SMMT, ZapMap)

UK's most popular electric cars in 2025: Top 10

Tesla has retained its dominance in the UK electric car market for 2025, according to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Full registration figures for the year have been released, showing that the number of cars Tesla registered is a long way ahead of competitors from Audi, Ford, BMW and Skoda.

The full chart can be found here:

Global electric vehicle statistics – what are the biggest markets for EVs in the world?

• Global electric vehicle sales are expected to surpass 20 million in 2024 for the first time, up from 17.3 million in 2024.
• China is by far the biggest market for electric vehicles. In 2025, EVs exceeded 50% market share for the first time, making up two-thirds of global EV sales.
• China produces more than 70% of the world’s electric vehicles, making it comfortably the world’s biggest EV manufacturing hub.
• 3.5 million fully electric vehicles sold in China in the first half of 2025, along with 2.12 million PHEVs.
• Norway has by far the largest EV market share, with electric vehicles making up 92% of passenger vehicle sales in 2024.
• In Sweden, 58% of passenger vehicles sold in 2024 were fully electric, while in Denmark that figure is 56%.
• Forecasts suggest that EU countries will hit 2.4 million electric car sales by the end of 2025, up from 1,456,000 in 2024.
• In Q3 2025, EV sales in the United States rose ahead of cuts to federal EV tax credits. This saw electric cars hit 10.5% of the new car market, although this has since dropped as demand wanes.

(Data from World Resources Institute, International Energy Agency, Cox Automotive)

• 2030 ban – is it worth buying an electric car now?
• The road to electric – in charts and data
• Types of electric vehicles – EVs explained
• Are electric cars really better for the environment?
• Breakdown cover for electric and hybrid cars 

EV charging infrastructure in the UK: Key stats and data

• There were 87,168 electric vehicle charging points in operation across the UK at the end of November 2025. That’s up 18% on November 2024.
• These are split across 44,326 locations, with 121,364 total connectors available.
• 13,469 new EV charge points have been installed across the UK in 2025. The majority of these (6,220) were ‘slow’ chargers putting out less than 8kW.
• Rapid chargers (with 50-149kW output) make up 8,070 of the total chargers, with Ultra-rapid (150kW and above) making up 9,759.
• 3,358 Rapid or Ultra-rapid chargers were added to the UK public charging network in 2025 up until the end of November.
• The top three biggest Rapid or Ultra-rapid charging networks are Instavolt (2,169 charging points by October 2025), Tesla (2,122) and Osprey (1,390).
• The South East of England has the largest share of these chargers with 2,523, followed by the North West with 2,023 and Scotland with 1,987.

(Data: Zapmap)

New electric car statistics: Are EVs getting better and cheaper in 2026?

• There is more choice than ever in the electric car market, with over 150 new electric models to choose from in the UK – from budget city cars to luxury SUVs.
• The average cost of a new electric car in the UK is around £46,000 – but the choice of EVs that cost under £30,000 new has substantially grown.
• The average range of an electric car in 2025 is around 300 miles, up from 235 miles in 2024.
• The longest range electric car on sale in the UK today is the new BMW iX3, which promises up to 500 miles on a single charge depending on trim.
• The cheapest electric car on sale is the Dacia Spring, now priced at just £12,240 including Dacia’s own Electric Car Grant discount.
• The Tesla Model Y was still the best-selling electric car in Europe in 2025, with the Tesla Model 3 and the Volkswagen ID.4 in second and third place.