International Energy Agency (IEA) says that China is the world’s largest car producer and exporter, accounting for over 70% of the production of electric cars globally and 85% of lithium-ion battery production.
This is disclosed in the latest edition of IEA State of Energy Innovation 2026 and Global EV Outlook 2026.
According to the report, China is also home to the world’s largest EV fleet, which avoided around 1 million barrels per day of oil demand in 2025 – equivalent to roughly 13% of the transport oil demand China would otherwise have had that year.
The report highlighted that China , though, a late entrant into the industry, it identified EVs in the early 2000s as a strategic means to establish itself in the global automotive sector – then dominated by European, Japanese and United States incumbent manufacturers – and reduce its dependence on imported oil.
Yet as late as 2010, the global lithium-ion battery industry was still led by Japanese and Korean firms. At the time, much of the technical expertise and scientific knowledge underpinning battery technologies remained concentrated abroad. Today, the picture is radically different with China accounting for over 70% of the production of electric cars globally and 85% of lithium-ion battery production.
” Achieving this took decades of industrial and demand-side policies. This commentary traces their rise from research laboratories to one of the defining technologies of the 21st century. In doing so, it offers important lessons that could support countries seeking to build or strengthen their own battery industries,” it said.
