Fresh registration data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI), the UK-based market intelligence firm tracking the global EV, battery, and critical minerals supply chains, show worldwide EV registrations (battery-electric and plug-in hybrid combined) fell 3% year-on-year in January to just under 1.2 million units.
The decline was driven by a sharp reversal in China and a slump in North America, while Europe stood out as the clear bright spot. Registrations in Europe rose 24% year-on-year to more than 320,000 units, even if that marked the region’s slowest growth pace in a year.
Lowest monthly EV sales in the US
The January snapshot underscores how decisively policy continues to steer the EV market. In China, registrations dropped roughly 20% to below 600,000 units, the weakest month in almost two years, after tax and subsidy changes dampened demand.
In North America, volumes fell by about a third to just over 85,000 vehicles, with the US posting its lowest monthly EV tally since early 2022.
Meanwhile, the “rest of world” category jumped more than 90% to nearly 190,000 units, supported by targeted incentives in markets such as Thailand and solid growth in South Korea and Brazil. EV adoption is increasingly multi-speed and no longer confined to the traditional triad of China, Europe, and the US.
The European EV market expanded 33%
Europe’s resilience is rooted in regulation as much as in consumer demand. According to BMI, Europe’s EV market expanded by roughly 33% in 2025 compared with 2024, and the consultancy expects a further 14% growth in 2026.
Carmakers still face binding EU fleet CO₂ standards, even if near-term compliance pressure has been softened by allowing emissions to be averaged over the 2025-2027 period. That flexibility offers breathing room, but it does not remove the structural push toward electrification.
At the EU level, battery-electric cars accounted for 17.4% of new registrations in 2025, up from 13.6% in 2024, while non-plug-in hybrids captured 34.5%. Much of Europe’s electrification story, therefore, remains transitional rather than fully battery-electric. Beneath these averages lies stark divergence.
Norway remains the global outlier, with battery-electrics representing 95.9% of new car sales in 2025 and gasoline-only cars reduced to statistical noise.
At the other end of the spectrum, several Southern and Eastern European markets still struggle with affordability constraints, weaker charging coverage, and limited fiscal support.
Belgium in the upper tier
Belgium sits firmly in the upper tier of EU adopters. In 2025, 145,170 electric vehicles were sold, up 13.6% from 2024, giving EVs a 35% share of new registrations.
More than one in three newly registered cars was electric. By year-end, Belgium’s EV fleet reached around 450,000 vehicles, roughly 7-8% of the national passenger-car parc.
Yet Belgium’s EV success is not primarily a story of private households. Nearly nine out of ten newly registered battery-electric vehicles in 2025 were company cars.
Belgium’s long-standing company-car culture, combined with favourable tax deductibility for zero-emission vehicles, has turned corporate fleets into the main engine of electrification.
This dynamic accelerates volumes, seeds the second-hand market, and familiarises drivers with electric mobility, but it also risks masking weaker private demand as direct purchase subsidies for individuals have largely been phased out.
Infrastructure is a comparative strength. Belgium counted more than 106,000 public and semi-public charging points in 2025, up 23% year-on-year.
AC charging points are nearing 100,000, while high-power DC chargers above 150 kW increased by more than half in a single year. Wallonia and Brussels posted particularly strong relative growth, narrowing the historical gap with Flanders.
A dense and expanding charging network strengthens Belgium’s long-term adoption potential, especially as ex-lease EVs from corporate fleets enter the private market in greater numbers.
More Chinese exports
Globally, BMI’s figures also highlight a strategic shift that will directly affect Europe and Belgium: exports. Chinese EV exports are expected to remain strong in 2026 even as domestic growth cools.
In 2025, Chinese-produced EVs already accounted for roughly 19% of Europe’s total EV sales. As Chinese manufacturers intensify their overseas push, European consumers may benefit from greater price competition and broader model choice, while competitive pressure on European carmakers is likely to intensify, feeding debates about trade, localisation, and strategic autonomy.
The broader picture is more nuanced than a simple ‘European surge’ narrative. Europe is growing, but at different speeds and for different reasons across member states.
In some countries, consumer incentives and climate policy remain the primary drivers. In others, including Belgium, fiscal frameworks for company cars are the decisive lever. Meanwhile, China cools at home, the US recalibrates after policy changes, and new pockets of growth emerge elsewhere.
If January’s data are any guide, 2026 will not be defined by a single global EV wave but by a patchwork of regional sprints, each propelled or constrained by its own mix of regulation, incentives, infrastructure, and industrial strategy.
Belgium proves that targeted tax policy can rapidly reshape a market. The next challenge is broadening adoption beyond corporate fleets — something that will require addressing high household electricity prices and closing the knowledge gap around total cost of ownership.
As long as consumers focus mainly on sticker price rather than total cost of ownership (TCO), the private EV market will remain harder to unlock.
