---
title: "EVs vs Petrol, Diesel and Hybrid Cars: Where the Market Really Stands in the US, Europe, Australia and Canada"
slug: ev-vs-other-cars-us-europe-australia-canada-2026
category: business
category_label: "Business"
author: "BrainWavePost Staff"
date: 2026-05-04
tags: ["EV", "automotive", "business", "electric vehicles", "global markets"]
read_time_minutes: 13
canonical_url: https://brainwavepost.com/article/ev-vs-other-cars-us-europe-australia-canada-2026
source: BrainWavePost
---

# EVs vs Petrol, Diesel and Hybrid Cars: Where the Market Really Stands in the US, Europe, Australia and Canada

*Business · 2026-05-04 · BrainWavePost Staff · 13 min read*

> Battery-electric vehicles now account for more than 1 in 5 new cars sold worldwide, but the picture varies sharply by region. We pulled together the latest data from the IEA, Cox Automotive/Kelley Blue Book, ACEA, Australia's Electric Vehicle Council, Statistics Canada and Consumer Reports to compare how EVs really stack up against petrol, diesel and hybrid cars in the US, Europe, Australia and Canada.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have moved from niche to mainstream faster than almost any analyst predicted five years ago. The International Energy Agency's Global EV Outlook 2025 reports that more than 17 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2024 — over 20% of all new cars — and projects sales to surpass 20 million in 2025, taking global share past one-quarter of the new-car market.

But averages hide enormous regional differences. In some European countries, more than 1 in 4 new cars is now electric; in the United States, the figure briefly hit a record 10.5% in Q3 2025 before collapsing when federal tax credits expired; Australia is closing in on 13–17%; and Canada has just emerged from a turbulent stretch caused by the suspension of its national rebate. This article compares EVs against petrol, diesel and hybrid cars across those four markets, using only reputable, citable sources.

> **How we define terms** _(info)_
>
> ‘EV’ in this article means battery-electric vehicle (BEV) unless stated otherwise. ‘ZEV’ (zero-emission vehicle) as used by Statistics Canada and the IEA includes BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). ‘Hybrid’ refers to conventional non-plug-in hybrids (HEVs). ‘ICE’ means internal-combustion-engine vehicles (petrol and diesel).

## 1. United States: a record-setting Q3, then a tax-credit cliff

According to Cox Automotive's Q3 2025 EV Sales Report, compiled with Kelley Blue Book estimates, U.S. consumers bought 438,487 new EVs in the third quarter of 2025 — an all-time record, up 29.6% year-on-year and 40.7% from Q2. EVs reached 10.5% of all new vehicles sold, the highest quarterly share ever recorded in the United States.

The surge was largely driven by buyers rushing to claim the federal Clean Vehicle Credit (up to US$7,500) before it was eliminated for most purchases at the start of October 2025. Cox Automotive's Q4 2025 commentary confirmed a sharp Q4 collapse, leaving full-year 2025 EV sales down roughly 2% versus 2024 — the first annual decline in the modern EV era.

- **10.5%** — Peak US EV share, Q3 2025 (Cox Automotive / KBB)
- **438,487** — Record US EV sales in a single quarter (Q3 2025)
- **−2%** — Full-year 2025 US EV sales vs 2024 (Cox Automotive)

Hybrids — not EVs — were the biggest winners of the U.S. policy shift. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Monthly Energy Review and Wards Intelligence data both show conventional hybrid sales rising sharply in 2025, with hybrids overtaking EVs in monthly share by year-end. Petrol vehicles still account for the overwhelming majority of new U.S. sales (roughly 75–80% in 2025), with diesel a niche segment dominated by pickups.

## 2. Europe: still the world's most mature mass EV market

Europe remains the second-largest EV market after China. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reports that battery-electric cars accounted for around 15–17% of new EU car registrations in 2025, with combined BEV + PHEV share well above 22%. The IEA's Global EV Outlook 2025 puts Europe's overall electric car share at roughly 1 in 4 new cars when PHEVs are included.

The picture inside Europe varies wildly:

- Norway (EFTA, not EU): more than 90% of new cars sold are now battery-electric — the highest share in the world (Norwegian Road Federation / OFV).
- Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium: BEV share consistently in the 30–60% range (ACEA).
- Germany, France and the UK: BEV share in the mid-teens to low 20s, growing again in 2025 after a 2024 dip.
- Italy, Spain and most of Central/Eastern Europe: BEV share still below 10%, where diesel and petrol remain dominant.

Diesel — historically Europe's defining fuel — has collapsed from over 50% of new car sales in 2015 to under 10% in most major Western European markets, according to ACEA. Petrol and conventional hybrids now make up the bulk of non-plug-in sales, with mild-hybrids (MHEVs) increasingly the default new petrol car. The European Union's regulation requiring all new cars sold to be zero-emission from 2035 (Regulation (EU) 2023/851) is the structural force pulling the market.

## 3. Australia: a record 2025, but still catching up

The Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), citing the official VFACTS new-vehicle sales data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), reported that more than 157,000 EVs were sold in Australia in 2025 — a 38% increase on 2024 and roughly 13% of all new cars sold. December 2025 set a new monthly record at 16.7% EV share.

- **157,000+** — EV sales in Australia in 2025 (Electric Vehicle Council / VFACTS)
- **13%** — Full-year EV share of new car sales, 2025
- **+38%** — Year-on-year growth vs 2024

Australia is structurally an SUV and ute market, and ICE pickups (notably the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux) continue to top the overall sales charts. But Tesla's Model Y and Model 3, BYD's Sealion and Atto 3, and a wave of Chinese new entrants pushed BEVs firmly into the mainstream in 2025. Conventional hybrids — led by the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid — also hit record share, helped by long EV waiting lists and the high cost of living with intermittent charging in regional Australia.

The Australian Government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), in force from 1 January 2025, is the country's first CO₂ standard for cars and is the main regulatory lever pulling EV supply into the market.

## 4. Canada: a roller-coaster after the iZEV pause

Statistics Canada's quarterly New Motor Vehicle Registrations releases show a turbulent 2024–2025 for Canadian EVs. The Canada Energy Regulator's April 2026 Market Snapshot, ‘Canadian electric vehicle sales ride a roller coaster in 2024 and 2025’, summarises it bluntly: ZEV sales (BEVs + PHEVs) peaked above 18% of new vehicle registrations in late 2024, then dropped sharply after the federal iZEV consumer rebate (up to C$5,000) ran out of funds and was paused in January 2025.

Statistics Canada data show ZEVs accounting for roughly 11–13% of new motor vehicle registrations through 2025, well below the late-2024 peak but still ahead of the United States. Quebec and British Columbia continue to lead the country, helped by their own provincial rebates and ZEV mandates; Ontario, Alberta and the Prairies remain dominated by ICE pickups and SUVs.

Hybrids, as in the US, were the main beneficiary of the rebate pause. Toyota Canada and Honda Canada both reported record hybrid sales in 2025, and conventional hybrids overtook BEVs in several months of the year.

## How EVs compare against petrol, diesel and hybrids on the things buyers actually care about

Beyond market share, four factors dominate the consumer decision: upfront price, total cost of ownership, charging/refuelling convenience, and emissions. The reputable evidence is now reasonably consistent.

### a) Upfront price

EVs still carry a meaningful sticker-price premium against equivalent petrol cars in the US, Australia and Canada — typically 10–25% more for comparable models, according to Kelley Blue Book and Australia's EVC. In Europe and especially China, that gap has closed: the IEA reports that two-thirds of new BEVs sold in China in 2024 were already cheaper than their petrol equivalents, and price parity is appearing in several European segments. New entrants from BYD, MG, GWM and others are putting strong downward pressure on prices in Australia and Europe in particular.

### b) Total cost of ownership (TCO)

This is where EVs most clearly outperform ICE cars. Consumer Reports' multi-year ownership-cost research (most recently updated by Keith Barry in March 2026) finds that EV drivers typically spend about 60% less on fuel/electricity and roughly half as much on repair and maintenance over the life of the car compared with petrol equivalents. Atlas Public Policy's 2025 update, ‘Comparing the Cost of Owning the Most Popular Vehicles in the United States’, concluded that the most popular gasoline models often cost more to own over a typical seven-year period than a comparable EV, even before incentives.

Vincentric's 2025 US Electric Vehicle Cost of Ownership Analysis offers a useful counter-balance: of 54 EVs studied, 24 had a lower total cost of ownership than their ICE alternative, and 30 did not — meaning the TCO advantage is real but model-specific. Hybrids tend to sit between EVs and petrol cars on running costs, with very low fuel bills but higher maintenance than EVs (they still have engines, transmissions, exhaust systems and oil changes).

- **~60%** — Lower fuel/energy costs for EVs vs petrol (Consumer Reports)
- **~50%** — Lower repair & maintenance costs for EVs vs petrol (Consumer Reports)
- **24 of 54** — US EVs with lower TCO than ICE equivalents in 2025 (Vincentric)

### c) Charging vs refuelling convenience

This remains the single biggest practical disadvantage of EVs in all four markets — but the gap is closing fast. The IEA Global EV Outlook 2025 reports that the global public charging network grew by more than 30% in 2024 to over 5 million chargers worldwide, with fast-charger growth even quicker. The U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center counts more than 220,000 public charging ports in the U.S., the European Alternative Fuels Observatory tracks more than 900,000 in the EU, Australia's EVC reported more than 1,200 high-power charging sites by late 2025, and Natural Resources Canada's ZEVIP program continues to expand the Canadian network.

For most owners with off-street parking, home charging makes the comparison favourable for EVs. For renters, apartment dwellers and long-distance rural drivers — particularly in Australia and Canada — petrol and hybrid cars still win on convenience today.

### d) Emissions and environmental claims

Across every credible lifecycle analysis — including the IEA's Global EV Outlook 2024 and 2025, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ‘A global comparison of the lifecycle GHG emissions of combustion engine and electric passenger cars’ (2021, updated 2023), and the European Environment Agency — battery-electric cars produce significantly lower lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions than equivalent petrol or diesel cars in all four of these markets, even on today's electricity mixes. The advantage grows as grids decarbonise. Hybrids reduce tailpipe emissions roughly 20–35% versus petrol, but cannot match a BEV on a clean grid.

## Where each technology still wins in 2026

- Battery EVs win on running costs, in-city use, home charging, refinement, and lifecycle emissions — particularly in Europe and parts of the US, where electricity is relatively clean and home charging is common.
- Conventional hybrids win on out-of-the-box convenience, low fuel bills without changing your driving habits, and resale value — which is why Toyota, Honda and Hyundai Hybrid sales hit records in the US, Canada and Australia in 2025.
- Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) win for households that want EV-like daily driving with petrol-backed long trips — but only deliver their benefits if actually charged regularly, a point repeatedly stressed by the ICCT and the European Environment Agency.
- Petrol still wins on upfront price in the US, Canada and Australia, on towing and ute/pickup capability, and in regions with sparse charging infrastructure.
- Diesel retains a niche advantage for heavy towing and very high-mileage rural driving, but is in structural decline across all four regions due to emissions regulation.

## What changes the picture from here

Three things will largely decide how this contest plays out through 2030 in the US, Europe, Australia and Canada:

1. Policy stability: the US 2025 tax-credit cliff and Canada's iZEV pause both showed how fragile EV demand can be when incentives swing. Europe's 2035 zero-emission deadline and Australia's NVES are pulling the other way.
2. Affordable models: the IEA expects new lower-cost BEVs from Chinese, Korean and legacy Western automakers to push EV global share above 40% by 2030. Affordable compact and mid-size EVs are the missing piece in the US and Canadian markets in particular.
3. Charging build-out and grid readiness: utilities, governments and charge-point operators in all four regions are racing to keep pace with the IEA's projections. Where the network keeps up, EV share keeps growing; where it lags, hybrids fill the gap.

## Bottom line

Globally, the IEA's data is unambiguous: EVs are now the fastest-growing segment of the car market and are on track to be more than 40% of new sales by 2030. Across the US, Europe, Australia and Canada, however, the rate of change is being shaped less by the technology itself — which is now mature and competitive on total cost of ownership for many households — and more by policy, charging infrastructure and the supply of affordable models. Petrol and hybrids will dominate showroom floors for several more years in North America and Australia; in much of Europe, that is already no longer true.

> **Sources** _(info)_
>
> International Energy Agency — Global EV Outlook 2025 (iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2025) and Global EV Data Explorer. — Cox Automotive / Kelley Blue Book — Q3 2025 and Q4 2025 EV Sales Reports (coxautoinc.com). — European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) — New Car Registrations 2025 monthly releases (acea.auto). — European Environment Agency — Monitoring CO₂ emissions from new passenger cars (eea.europa.eu). — Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) — annual EV market data. — Electric Vehicle Council (Australia) — 2025 EV sales reports and State of Electric Vehicles 2025 (electricvehiclecouncil.com.au). — Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries — VFACTS 2025. — Statistics Canada — New Motor Vehicle Registrations Q2/Q3 2025, New Motor Vehicle Sales monthly releases (statcan.gc.ca). — Canada Energy Regulator — Market Snapshot, April 2026 (cer-rec.gc.ca). — Consumer Reports — ‘EVs Offer Big Savings Over Traditional Gas-Powered Cars’ and ‘Will an Electric Car Save You Money?’ (consumerreports.org). — Atlas Public Policy — 2025 Vehicle Cost of Ownership Update (atlaspolicy.com). — Vincentric — 2025 US EV Cost of Ownership Analysis (vincentric.com). — International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) — EV Market Monitor H1 2025 and global lifecycle GHG comparison (theicct.org). — U.S. Energy Information Administration — Monthly Energy Review (eia.gov). — U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center (afdc.energy.gov). — European Alternative Fuels Observatory (eafo.eu). — Natural Resources Canada — Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (nrcan.gc.ca).

> **About this article** _(note)_
>
> This article is for general information only and is not financial, automotive, or purchasing advice. Vehicle pricing, incentives, fuel costs, and tax rules vary by region and change frequently — always verify current figures with official government and manufacturer sources before making a buying decision. BrainWavePost.com is an independent digital platform that shares well-researched educational content; it is not a news agency, automotive dealer, or industry analyst.

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