Figures from the International Energy Agency, published by Our World in Data, show that electric vehicles now account for more than one in four new car sales worldwide.
The charts also show how quickly the shift away from gas- and diesel-powered cars has accelerated across several major markets. One chart tracking electric car sales as a share of new car sales shows a steep global rise over the past decade.
Norway remains the clearest standout, with 92% of new cars sold now electric, while China has crossed the halfway mark at almost 50%. Globally, the total has climbed to 22%, a dramatic jump from just a few years ago.
The data includes both fully battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Battery-electric cars do not have a combustion engine, whereas plug-in hybrids can also run on gasoline. Both categories are included in the headline sales figures.
Transportation remains a major source of heat-trapping pollution, and EVs are widely seen as a key tool for reducing that harmful carbon pollution.
While electric cars typically create more pollution during manufacturing, especially because of battery production, that initial "carbon debt" is typically offset over time on the road.
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The climate benefits are even greater in places with cleaner electricity.
In countries where power grids rely more heavily on renewables and other lower-pollution energy sources, EVs can produce lower adverse health effects over their lifetimes.
As more countries continue to clean up their power systems, those benefits are expected to grow.
Based on IEA data, global sales of nonelectric cars appear to have peaked around 2018. Meanwhile, the number of EVs already on the road has surged to almost 60 million worldwide, up from just 26 million in 2022.
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Because cars stay in use for years, electric vehicles still make up a much smaller share of the total cars on the road than they do of new sales, but that gap is beginning to close as adoption accelerates.
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