Global electric vehicle registrations reached around 1.8 million in May, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data reported by Reuters.

That was only 3% more than in May last year, bringing the first five months of 2026 to a modest 0.9% increase. On paper, that looks like a clear slowdown after years of double-digit growth. In reality, it shows a market that is no longer moving as a single unit. But Europe and Belgium tell a different story

BMI says European registrations of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 23% in May to about 415,000 units, helped by incentives, higher petrol prices, and a broader choice of models.

China went the other way

China, still by far the world’s largest EV market, went the other way, with domestic registrations down 9% to about 987,000 units after the expiry of tax breaks and trade-in support. North America fell even more sharply, down 26% to around 123,000 vehicles, as US policy support weakened.

This makes 2026 a more complex year for electric mobility. The global transition is not reversing, but it is entering a slower and more uneven phase. The International Energy Agency still expects electric cars to reach 23 million sales this year, or 28% of all new cars sold.

EV Volumes is more cautious, forecasting 22.7 million, up only 5% from 2025. Both scenarios would have been considered extraordinary only a few years ago. In 2025, global electric car sales already exceeded 20 million, meaning roughly one in four new cars sold worldwide was electric.

Market slowing down

The contrast with the recent past is striking. Electric cars were still a niche product in many markets before the pandemic. Now the debate has shifted from whether EVs can grow to whether growth can remain as fast as before. That difference matters. A market can slow down and still become structurally larger every year.

Europe illustrates this well. The continent saw a strong EV rebound in 2025, when electric car sales rose by more than 30% to 4.2 million, or 28% of new-car sales, according to the IEA.

In the EU, battery electric cars reached a 17.4% share in 2025, up from 13.6% in 2024, while gasoline and diesel continued to lose ground. The 2026 data suggest that Europe has kept its momentum even while China cools domestically and North America retreats.

Belgium sits near the front of that European trend. In May, new car registrations in Belgium and Luxembourg slipped 2.1% to 33,625 vehicles, partly due to fewer working days.

Yet battery electric vehicles continued to gain ground, reaching 37.4% of the market, almost two-fifths of new registrations. Over the first five months, the overall market was down 4.1%, but the powertrain mix continued to shift toward electrification.

Belgium changed radically

The Belgian picture has changed radically in a short time. Statbel figures show that hybrid and electric cars accounted for 72.8% of new passenger car registrations in 2025, up from 7.9% in 2019.

Diesel, once dominant, fell to just 3.5% of new registrations. EV Belgium counted about 145,000 electric cars sold in Belgium in 2025, up 13.6% from 2024, giving electric models a 35% market share.

That does not mean Belgian private buyers have suddenly become convinced EV enthusiasts. The country’s electrification remains heavily driven by company cars.

Nearly 9 out of 10 new fully electric cars registered in 2025 were registered by enterprises, according to Statbel and EV Belgium. Among private consumers, price, charging access, and battery confidence remain powerful barriers.

Deloitte’s 2026 Belgian consumer study found that only 12% of respondents preferred a BEV as their next vehicle, barely more than in 2025, while 45% still preferred petrol or diesel, and 31% hybrids.

Second-hand as accelerator

This apparent contradiction is becoming the next phase of the Belgian EV story. The company car market has pulled new EV registrations forward. The private market may follow later, through the second-hand channel.

Belgium is a used car country, with used cars accounting for 64% of car sales in 2025. Electric cars are still a small part of that market, rising from 3% to 5%, but the supply of ex-lease EVs will grow quickly as today’s company cars return to the market.

If those cars arrive at attractive prices, with remaining battery warranties and transparent battery health information, they could bring EVs within reach of households that cannot or will not buy new.

That could also soften the negative narrative around EVs on social media. Familiarity matters. Once neighbors, relatives, and colleagues buy used EVs that work reliably and cost less to run, the discussion becomes less ideological and more practical.

For now, the May data do not point to an EV collapse. They point to a changing market. Worldwide growth is slower than in the boom years, but the base is much larger.

Europe is still accelerating. Belgium is already highly electrified in new registrations, although largely through fleets. The decisive question is no longer whether EVs can sell, but whether the used market can turn company-led adoption into mass private adoption.