Europe’s record EV month arrives as France and Germany move to soften 2035 targets, undermining their case that demand lags policy. By Stewart Burnett
Europe sold almost 600,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in September, its best month on record, and alongside emerging markets the region is now carrying global EV growth. However, this sales boom was insufficient to prevent an overall sales slip of 2% down to 2.15 million units—due largely to sharp drops in North America and China—according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
EVs substantially outperformed their partially-electrified counterparts in Europe, rising 50% year-over-year against just 16% for plug-in hybrids. Data from E-Mobility Europe, New Automotive and Fier Automotive put EVs at 32.6% of registrations across 17 key markets—almost one-third—including 41.7% in France and 34.6% in Germany. High fuel prices linked to the war in Iran, subsidies and a wave of cheaper models are now driving adoption every bit as much as, if not more so than, regulation.
The latest figures jar with the rhetoric of both policy makers and industry giants. On 16 October, France and Germany jointly agreed to replace the EU’s 2035 firm zero-emission goal with a 90% cut, and Toyota is lobbying for flexibility on the grounds that EVs will account for only 45% of the market by 2030. However, September’s figures suggest that the leading markets are moving appreciably faster than that, although the averages hide a substantially less balanced picture. Indeed, Italy sits at just 7.6% and Poland at 6.2%, while Norway has managed to reach 98.8%.
North America has swung in the opposite direction entirely, with sales plunging 44% Y.o.Y to around 130,000, marking the single steepest drop this year. However, September 2025 was unusual, being the final month before the US$7,500 federal tax credit expired. “From the fourth quarter, the comparison will be against the months immediately after the credit’s removal, when US EV sales collapsed, so the year-on-year picture should improve markedly,” said Charles Lester, Data Manager at Benchmark, in a statement. The year-to-date fall of 24% is not a base effect, however.
China remains the largest market by raw numbers at 1.11 million units across September, but sales fell 18% Y.o.Y. However, market share has continued to increase against other powertrains. Indeed, plug-in hybrids are down 25% so far in 2026. Internal combustion engine car sales fared even worse, down 43% to 534,000 according to the China Passenger Car Association, so this is a shrinking market rather than a swing back to combustion. The country’s automakers have responded to this market contraction by doubling down on global expansion, shipping a record 558,000 new energy vehicles abroad in September.
That export push is heading into tougher conditions. An EU–China arrangement awaiting member state approval would cap Chinese hybrid imports at 350,000 units in 2027, placing pressure on Chinese automakers to invest in local production or sell their products elsewhere. On the other side of the coin, Beijing will cut its export VAT rebate on new energy vehicles from 13% to just 9% in April 2027. Chinese brands already hold more than a quarter of the EU’s plug-in hybrid market, which makes Europe the outlet they can least afford to lose, and also the one closing fastest.
Outside the three main regions, sales rose sharply—albeit from a low base—achieving 81% growth or around 310,000 units. These markets have bought 2.3 million EVs this year, nearly double North America’s 1.2 million, with affordable Chinese models feeding much of the growth in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. As Europe rations access, it is inevitable that a growing portion of China’s surplus will flow there instead.
Ultimately, September suggests that European EV demand is arguably more sensitive to price and fuel costs more than political mandates, which, ironically, weakens the core argument for softening the 2035 phase-out. The bigger shift, however, is geographic: with the US essentially ceding any meaningful role in the zero-emission race, the contest over EV volumes now pits Chinese export capacity against European protectionism, both in Europe itself and in the emerging markets absorbing what Europe will not take.
