LONDON, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Europe is lagging around three years behind China in electric vehicle (EV) sales, a report released on Wednesday showed, underscoring mounting pressure on the bloc to speed up transition amid rising energy risks.
The report, called the State of European Transport 2026, was published by the pan-European campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E). It states that the European Union (EU) and China are broadly even in EV sales share in 2020 but that weaker car carbon dioxide (CO2) standards in Europe after 2022 have allowed China to pull ahead.
Although stricter targets were reintroduced in 2025 and helped narrow the gap, Europe is lagging China by around three years, according to the report.
T&E attributes the gap partly to differences in policy and industrial development. China has expanded rapidly in electrification and clean technology, with Chinese companies now producing about 60 percent of the world's electric cars, while battery manufacturing capacity is estimated to be around 20 times that of Europe. Europe, by contrast, saw its transition lose pace for a period amid regulatory uncertainty.
Nevertheless, the report noted that the region retains a solid industrial base, with around 70 percent of EVs sold in Europe manufactured locally. It added that Europe's battery sector is also evolving, with European, Chinese and South Korean firms investing in new capacity.
At the same time, the urgency of the transition is being reinforced by external factors. As tensions in the Middle East intensify and oil prices remain elevated, Europe's reliance on imported fossil fuels has once again come into focus.
The report said Europe spent more than 220 billion euros (about 238 billion U.S. dollars) on imported oil in 2025. With oil prices at around 100 U.S. dollars per barrel, that figure is expected to exceed 300 billion euros (347.44 billion dollars) in 2026, including an estimated 80 billion euros (92.65 billion dollars) in additional costs linked to market volatility.
Against this backdrop, EVs are a key element in reducing oil use. Europe's roughly 8 million electric cars cut oil demand by about 46 million barrels in 2025, the report said.
Warning that slower uptake of EVs could prolong Europe's dependence on imported oil, the report stressed that Europe still has scope to narrow the gap with China if it maintains policy momentum, including its target of phasing out new combustion engine cars by 2035.
If Europe accelerates its transition now, it can catch up with China in the near future, the report said. ■