EV-friendly countries 2026

Electric vehicle sales have been booming over the past five years, and as costs decrease and battery technology improves, this boom is expected to continue. The International Energy Agency reported that the worldwide car fleet reached almost 58 million in 2024, with 17 million sold globally that year, a 25% rise on 2023’s tally.¹

But which countries are leading this boom? To answer that question, the car insurance comparison experts at Compare the Market created the EV-friendly countries index to identify which nations are leading the shift to electric vehicles. We assessed 25 countries on EV charging accessibility, market share, costs per 100km in USD, government incentives, and proposed internal combustion engine (ICE) bans and scored each nation out of 100 to determine the most and least EV-friendly.

Here is what we found.

The most EV-friendly countries

Representing Europe and Asia, our top five friendliest countries rank highly thanks to their outstanding performance across several core factors in our index.

The least EV-friendly countries

Across a mix of regions, the countries in our bottom five score lowest on the index, driven by comparatively weaker results across multiple key indicators.

1. South Africa

Finishing last in our index with a score of 14.80 and earning the unwanted crown of the least EV-friendly country is South Africa.

Contributing to its low index score was its charger density, which was the lowest in the entire dataset at 0.02 chargers per 1,000 drivers. It also had one of the lowest EV market shares of 3.96% of all new cars sold in 2025.

Scores of 0 for both incentives and the ICE ban also hampered its score, leading it to rank at the bottom of our index.

2. Mexico

Our second-least EV-friendly country is Mexico, which scored 23.53 out of 100.

Mexico’s standout weakness was its charging availability, with 0.05 chargers per 1,000 drivers being among the lowest in the dataset. Only South Africa had a lower charger density than Mexico.

The North American nation’s EV market share of 6.34% was higher than that of the bottom five countries, but the lack of infrastructure, combined with its high cost per 100km (USD$43.27), contributed to the low overall index score.

Mexico did have an incentive score of 1 and an ICE ban score of 1, indicating that there are policy levers in place, but infrastructure and costs hamper its EV friendliness.

3. Chile

Chile’s low scores across several factors place it in our bottom three, with an index score of 28.75.

Its low scores came thanks to a very low charger density (0.27 per capita), EV market share (3.50%), and a score of zero for government incentives.

However, Chile’s cost per 100km (USD$24.13) was comparatively low among the bottom five countries, but, along with its ICE ban score of two, it could not rescue its slide to 23rd overall.

4. New Zealand

New Zealand finishes 22^nd overall in our index, with a score of 29.17, and is named our fourth-least EV-friendly country.

The southwestern Pacific Ocean nation’s biggest headwinds were its very low charger density (0.33 per capita), low EV market share (5.58%), and lack of government incentives.

When it comes to costs, New Zealand’s USD$32.97 per 100km puts it in the middle ranks of this factor, meaning its low ranking is driven by a lack of infrastructure, low adoption rates, and government policy.

5. United Arab Emirates

Despite having one of the lowest costs to drive (USD$20 per 100km), the United Arab Emirates ranks in the bottom five of our index, with a score of 30.61.

The Emirates’ low ranking was influenced by a very low charger density of 0.16 per 1,000 drivers, the absence of government incentives, and the lack of a ban on ICE vehicles.

How EV friendly is Australia?

Australia was the 19^th most EV friendly country in our index, finishing above Japan (20^th – 32.50) and behind the United States (18^th– 34.60), Brazil (17^th – 36.02) and India (16^th 36.67) with a final index score of 34.35 out of 100.

While Australia did have a low driving cost of USD$29.90 per 100km, it scored low on chargers per 1,000 drivers (0.37), EV market share (8.51% of 2025 new car sales), and had no government incentives or ICE vehicle sales ban.

However, recent global oil market uncertainty has led to a shift in Australian car-buyer behaviour, with the country’s electric vehicle market hitting a new monthly high in March. Data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council showed that 15,839 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were sold in March, which was the highest number recorded in a single month.²

What the research tells us

Our findings reveal that infrastructure and adoption drive performance more than cost, and higher adoption can occur despite high costs.

Across the index, the most significant difference between higher- and lower-ranking countries was in charger availability and EV uptake, not in the cost of driving 100km. On average, top-performing countries had far greater charger density and EV market share, while costs per 100km remained broadly similar across both halves of the index. This suggests that access and adoption are more strongly linked to performance than running costs alone.

The data also showed that higher charging costs don’t necessarily prevent EV uptake. Several countries with above-average EV adoption also reported relatively high costs per 100km, indicating that other factors, such as infrastructure, policy support, or consumer behaviour, may play a larger role in driving adoption.