About 756,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in the world in 2016, with 95% of those sales in China, Europe, the United States, Japan, and Canada, according to data gathered by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
China’s plug-in vehicle sales grew by 53% from 2015 to 2016, to a high of nearly 317,000 vehicles, most of which were all-electric vehicles (77%).
All of the European countries combined had 11% plug-in vehicle sales growth from 2015 to 2016, with an EV share of 44%.
The United States plug-in vehicle market grew by 40% during the same time frame, with over half (54%) of sales being EV in 2016.
Japan’s plug-in vehicle sales market grew by 7%, with a 63% share of EV in 2016.
Plug-in Vehicle Sales by Vehicle Type, Calendar Years 2015 and 2016 (Thousands)
| Vehicle Type | China | Europe | US | Japan | Canada | World | ||||||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| EV | 143.3 | 244.4 | 87.8 | 91.3 | 71.1 | 86.7 | 10.4 | 15.2 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 333.0 | 464.6 |
| PHEV | 63.8 | 72.4 | 100.6 | 118.0 | 43.0 | 72.9 | 12.4 | 9.1 | 2.2 | 5.4 | 233.0 | 291.7 |
| Total PEV | 207.0 | 316.8 | 188.3 | 209.3 | 114.0 | 159.6 | 22.8 | 24.3 | 6.9 | 10.3 | 566.0 | 756.3 |
