Electric vehicles are on track for a significant benchmark next year, with some experts predicting that they will make up more than a quarter of new car sales globally this year.
The projection, out of BloombergNEF, suggests the shift away from gas-powered vehicles is no longer limited to a handful of leading markets. Instead, EV adoption is accelerating in a growing number of countries.
What happened?
The latest Electric Vehicle Outlook report from BloombergNEF is showing that EV adoption is climbing sharply.
While five years ago, under 1 in 10 new car sales across the globe was an EV, this figure has skyrocketed to more than a 25% share in 2026.
The report claims that this growth is not slowing down either, adding that "electric vans, trucks, and passenger cars are still on a growth trajectory that could see them surpassing a 50% share of global sales by 2035."
China remains the dominant player in the global EV market, where EVs now make up nearly two-thirds of the country's new passenger-vehicle sales, according to Electric Cars Report. However, some of the biggest recent gains have come elsewhere.
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Why does it matter?
Transportation remains one of the largest sources of plant-warming pollution, and replacing gas-burning cars with EVs can cut harmful tailpipe emissions while lowering fuel costs for drivers.
But more than that, replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with electric ones creates a meaningful difference in the air people breathe. A recent study out of the University of Southern California even found that "a pretty small addition of [electric] cars at the ZIP code level led to a decline in air pollution."
Additionally, EVs are usually cheaper to drive and maintain when compared with gas cars, as they don't require oil changes and have fewer parts that need servicing.
Still, the transition is not moving at the same pace everywhere. BloombergNEF lowered its EV outlook for the United States for the second straight year.
BloombergNEF's report added that EV sales are expected to fall 19% this year due to federal support being rolled back, including fuel-economy rules and portions of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to Electric Cars Report.
Affordability also remains a major obstacle for many consumers who cannot afford to purchase low-pollution vehicles.
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