Global electric car sales are stagnating
02.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Lars Penning/dpa
Global sales of electric cars weakened in the first quarter, with sales across 43 key markets analysed by consulting firm PwC down 1% year-on-year to just under 2.7 million.
PwC said this was unusual, with the electric vehicle market showing consistent growth, including an increase of almost a third over 2025.
A decisive factor behind the weak numbers was weak demand in China, by far the largest market. PwC counted 1.32 million electric cars there, a 20% drop compared with a year earlier. In the US, the decline was even slightly sharper at 23% to just under 233,000.
Gains in other parts of the world did not offset the trend, even though sales in Europe - specifically the EU plus the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland - rose 26% to just under 724,000 vehicles. Strong sales in Germany and France were among the drivers of growth there.
Record market share
Despite the decline in absolute numbers, electric cars continued to gain relevance globally, including because sales of purely combustion-engine cars fell much more sharply, down 8%. PwC said the market share of electric cars was 16%, the highest ever for a first quarter.
PwC also said it assumed the decline in China was mainly due to one-off effects such as reduced subsidies. The trend there was already pointing upwards again. The consulting firm said it expects that sales of purely electric cars would pick up again in the second quarter.
The environment was difficult, but European manufacturers had caught up, said PwC partner Harald Wimmer.
Wimmer said that new models by European automakers met customers' tastes. In their home markets, this is reflected in rising sales volumes, which could be further supported by a potential demand boost due to high fuel prices due to the conflict in Iran.
The expert said European carmakers still needed to act on costs and the speed of innovation.
Chinese maker claims 1,500km range for new electric vehicle batteries
28.04.2026, DPA
Photo: Carsten Koall/dpa
Chinese company CATL said it has developed a game-changing battery capable of allowing an electric vehicle to drive 1,500 km on a single charge.
CATL's latest version of its condensed Qilin battery has a greater range than the distance by road from London to Barcelona and marks a significant increase from the 1,000-km range of its previous edition.
The innovation of the CATL battery appears to lie in its power-to-weight ratio. Making its announcement ahead of the Auto China motor show in Beijing (April 24 to May 3), the company said that never before has so much power been packed into such a small space whilst weighing so little.
Even 1,000 kilometres on a full tank of petrol or diesel is beyond most combustion engines and for electric cars that range has so far been a pipe-dream.
EV ranges have gone up steadily but for many prospective purchasers an electric car with a range of 1,000 km and beyond would be a key incentive to switching from a car with a combustion engine.
Steady progress in electric mobility has been overshadowed by ethical concerns, however, as much of the minerals needed for EV batteries comes from mines in the Congo where adults and children are reported to work in toxic and hazardous conditions for subsistence wages.
The manufacturer has not yet revealed any technical details but some aspects are known. The battery is said to have a capacity of around 200 kWh and can be fully recharged in well under 10 minutes.
CATL and Chinese automotive giant BYD, which together account for more than half of the global EV battery market, have been investing huge sums of money into battery research and development.
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