World Car Market Ranking by Country in 2026. China stumbles at the top, losing 18.6%. While France struggles (-10.5%), Italy and UK report considerable gains and move up the rankings.
World Ranking by Country considers cumulative registrations from more than 150 countries worldwide. Global vehicles sales (cars + light vehicles) up to February 2026 have reached 11,88 million units, decreasing by 7% in year-on-year change.
The final result can be explained as the result of contractions in major markets including China, which is moving away from stimulus-driven growth and slowing down, and the US were demand was affected by tariffs. As global production declines, competition becomes more regional, with growth pockets emerging especially in south america and south asia.
Country-wise, China remained the largest global market despite losing 18.6%. This huge market accounted for 23.7% of all global sales.
USA ranked 2nd losing 4.2% in sales volume. The country held a 19.5% share of the global market.
India ranked 3rd with a 7% share (+4.6%) followed by Japan which secured a 6.2% share (-3.5%).
Ranking 5th, Germany was still the largest European market, with a 3.4% share of the total (-1.5%), followed by Brazil in 6th with 2.8% (+1.7%).
Italy -up 1 spot- followed in 7th with 2.5% (+8%), in front of UK -up 1 spot- in 8th with 2.4% (+8.4%), France -down 2 spots- in 9th with 2.3% (-10.5%) and Mexico -up 1 spot- closing the Top 10 with 2.1% (+3.7% %).
EV Market Trend and Outlook
EV sales struggle globally in 2026, losing about 17% in year-on-year volume. While several countries are developing a charging ecosystem, policy uncertainty and overreliance on key actors such as China to provide materials hindered the segment’s growth.
China stayed at the top constituting 53.4% of all EV sales globally despite plunging 35.3%. USA followed in 2nd, down by 19.1% while securing 7.8%. Germany ranked 3rd, growing 18.1% with a 4% share.
Two countries that reported major growth were South Korea in 5th (+239.3%) and Thailand in 6th (+327%) higlighting the regional aspect of EV development.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for the top 50 markets.
