Global Vehicle Sales

Total global car sales, 2025 to 2035

According to ABI Research, global car sales will reach more than 97 million in 2026, which is a 1.6% increase Year over Year (YoY) compared to 2025. This comes after double-digit growth rates in prior years as the automotive supply chain started to normalize after the semiconductor shortage. 

Looking into the future, global vehicle sales will grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.1% between through 2035 - totaling 118 million annual shipments by then. 

Global car sales by powertrain type

Our market forecast segmented car sales by the following powertrains:

• Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)
• Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (BHEVs)
• Others (Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), fuel cell, etc.)

EVs are consistently enlarging their market share, accounting for 24% of total new vehicle sales in 2026. Despite EV sales growing yearly at a healthy rate, other powertrains (ICE, fuel cell, etc.) still account for 76% of all car sales worldwide as of 2026.

However, EVs are catching up. Our Automotive analyst team pinpoints 2032 as a key inflection point, when BEVs/PHEVs will account for more than half of total sales. Government regulation, EV charging infrastructure expansion, and the rise of the eco-conscious driver will be key growth drivers here.

PHEVs will remain a relatively niche segment, only growing at a modest CAGR of 2.6%.

Asia-Pacific accounts for most annual EV sales ... for now

Asia-Pacific dominates the EV market (BEVs and BHEVs) today, forecast to hold a 64.5% share of the 23.5 million total shipments in 2026. However, the Asia-Pacific is a much more mature regional market, so its 10.4% annual growth rate is outpaced by North America's 18% CAGR, Western Europe's 14.7% CAGR, and the Rest of the World's 24.2% CAGR.

By 2035, ABI Research forecasts Asia-Pacific's EV sales volume share to decrease to 48.5% of the 76 million total EVs sold globally. Still a dominant position, albeit a significant drop over the next nine years.

Chart Source

Methodology

New Vehicle Sales: New vehicle sales are routinely published in the public domain by both Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and national motor manufacturer associations. The Organisation Internationale de Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA) represents multiple national motor manufacturer associations, collating sales reports to provide a global picture.

Monthly sales figures in key countries are used to extrapolate the likely sales performance by the end of the current year, leveraging Year-to-Date (YTD) figures to disentangle for seasonal variation.

Future new vehicle sales are forecast according to a number of factors:

• Expected economic growth
• Monetary policy/interest rates
• Subsidies/incentives
• Historical churn rates

Insights into the historical impact of fluctuations in these factors on vehicle shipments are leveraged to infer and forecast future vehicle shipments.