Global EV sales hit 2.09 million in October as China slides 12%

Global electric vehicle sales landed at 2.09 million units in October 2026, an 8% jump from the same month last year, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reported. The month still slipped 3% versus September. That lifted January-October volumes to 17.5 million units. The tally covers battery electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars and light-duty vehicles.

China did the heavy lifting on volume and the dragging on growth. It moved 1.14 million units last month, but sales fell 12% year on year as domestic demand stayed soft. Rather than pull back, Chinese manufacturers kept factories running and pushed volume into exports.

Europe posted 510,000 units, up 36% year on year. North America climbed 24% to 130,000 units. The rest of the world was the standout, surging 85% to 300,000 units.

In India, electric passenger vehicle retail sales shot up 76.47% year on year to 37,049 units, per Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations data. EVs took 7.3% of all passenger vehicle retail sales, more than double the 3.5% share a year earlier. Overall passenger vehicle retail sales fell 14.23% to 5.08 lakh units. Total EV registrations across every category hit 354,625 units, up 44.88%.

Tata Motors led India's electric passenger vehicle market with 14,669 units, up 77.61% year on year, FADA said. Mahindra followed at 8,538 units with 85.65% growth, and JSW MG Motor moved 5,939 units, up 10.80%. VinFast clocked 2,571 units, Kia posted 1,395 and Maruti Suzuki recorded 1,200.