Electric Cars Reach Record Market Share

Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for a record 67% of new car sales in China in September 2026, marking a major milestone in the shift towards cleaner transport.

Global oil supply disruptions and higher petrol prices are “reinforcing China’s electrification of road transport”, said Erica Downs, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy, highlighting the growing importance of electric mobility for energy security.

The share of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), which include fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids, rose dramatically from just 6% of new car sales in 2020 to 58% in the first nine months of 2026, reaching two-thirds in September alone. Although overall car sales declined, electric vehicles proved more resilient than conventional petrol cars. Sales of combustion-engine vehicles fell by 43% year-on-year in September, compared with an 8.5% decline for fully electric cars. China’s expanding electric vehicle fleet has also helped reduce dependence on imported oil, displacing an estimated 143 million barrels since the start of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Meanwhile, Chinese NEV exports surged 164% year-on-year in September to 558,000 vehicles, showing the growing international reach of electric mobility.