ENVIRONMENT

Electric cars are starting to take over the world

June 5th, 2026

Electric vehicles may be struggling to find buyers in the U.S. — but they’re making inroads elsewhere.

A record-breaking 28% of new cars sold this year will be battery-powered, according to new data from the International Energy Agency. That’s a big deal: Driving around in gas-guzzling vehicles spews tons of planet-warming and health-harming pollution into the atmosphere.

The latest projections come even as the Trump administration’s attacks on electric vehicles stymie sales in the U.S., the world’s second-largest car market. The country is a massive laggard when it comes to EV adoption, with electric models making up just around 10% of new car sales. New EV sales are expected to decline for the second year in a row in the U.S., though used models are surging in popularity.

But outside the U.S., the picture is very different. The clearest example of that contrast is China, the world’s biggest car market and the global leader in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. Nearly 60% of cars sold in China this year will be electrified.

EV sales are growing rapidly across the rest of Asia, too. This year, sales are expected to leap by over 50% across Asian countries other than China, IEA found, driven in large part by the availability of super affordable Chinese EV models.

Surfshark AdBlock


In Europe, which has strong emissions standards that push consumers toward EVs, sales are growing especially fast. This year, EVs will make up one-third of new cars sold in the region, powered not only by EV-adoption poster child Norway but also by rapid uptake in Germany, the U.K., and Turkey.

It’s worth emphasizing that these figures are for new car sales only. It will take longer for EVs to become the most popular type of car on the road: Right now, they make up just about 5% of the global car fleet.

Still, we’re well past the peak for gas car sales, and the trends are in favor of EVs. By 2035, the IEA expects half the new cars sold worldwide to be EVs. In China and the E.U., 90% of new cars could be EVs by that time.

And then there’s the war in Iran, which has caused the price of gasoline to surge and even resulted in fossil-fuel shortages in some countries. The crisis is adding more urgency to the transition to electric vehicles, particularly for nations that rely on imported oil. As EVs get cheaper and the volatility of fossil fuels becomes more apparent, economics may start to drive the transition from gas cars faster than climate goals ever could.

Curated By

Aris Thorne
Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant | Tech Policy Researcher | Academic Researcher Labor Rights
Aris Thorne is an independent journalism contributor and former sociologist whose work examines the intersection of technology, environment, and social justice. Through their signature curation style, Aris transforms routine news coverage into critical examinations of systemic power structures, consistently highlighting how corporate innovations, from AI breakthroughs to green technologies, often mask deeper inequities affecting marginalized communities. Their "rebuttal" format challenges readers to move beyond surface-level reporting, exposing the human costs behind corporate success stories and advocating for solutions rooted in climate justice and ethical accountability. Drawing on academic rigor and intersectional analysis, Aris maintains a deeply skeptical lens toward institutional narratives, refusing to separate technological progress from its social implications. Their work has covered everything from algorithmic bias in hiring platforms to the environmental justice dimensions of renewable energy projects, always centering the voices of those most impacted by systemic failures.
Comments (1)

Suggested Reading

The Electric Vehicle Revolution: The Past, Present, and Future of EVs

In The Electric Vehicle Revolution, automotive journalist Kevin Wilson provides a thorough, engaging overview of where EV technology is today, how it got there, and where it’s going. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, EVs have gone from wonky who-cares vehicles like GM’s EV1 and early Tesla...

Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles

or electric vehicles, the question is no longer if they'll happen, or even when, but how—and veteran automotive beat reporter Mike Colias shows you just that. This is his deeply reported insider view of the hard pivot in the car business, a $2 trillion industry that hasn't undergone a change this pr...

Switching Gears: The Petroleum-Powered Electric Car

The new rock stars of the transportation industry are radical entrepreneurs with visions that may change the landscape of energy as drastically as computers changed the landscape of communication. Electric vehicles (EVs) are steadily gaining acceptance. Countries like Norway, France, India, and Chin...

Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less

For over a decade, philosopher and energy expert Alex Epstein has predicted that any negative impacts of fossil fuel use on our climate will be outweighed by the unique benefits of fossil fuels to human flourishing--including their unrivaled ability to provide low-cost, reliable energy to billions o...

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you accept our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.