That dollar amount reflects an 548.4% acceleration from $23.3 billion worth of electric cars imported five years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, the value of globally imported electric cars grew by 61% compared to $94 billion for 2022.
Imported electric cars represent 15.6% of all global purchases for all types of imported cars for 2023, compared to 12% for 2022 and 3% five years earlier in 2019.
From a continental perspective, buyers in European countries spent the most on imported electric cars during 2023 with purchases costing $95.9 billion or approaching two-thirds (63.4%) of the global total. In second place were importers in North America at 17.2% while another 15.2% of electric cars imported worldwide was delivered to Asia.
Smaller percentages went to customers in Oceania (2.9%) led by Australia and New Zealand, Latin America plus the Caribbean (1%), then Africa (0.3%).
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for electric cars is 870380.
Electric Cars Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of electric cars during 2023.
- United States: US$19 billion (12.6% of total imported electric cars)
- Germany: $15.4 billion (10.1%)
- United Kingdom: $14.8 billion (9.8%)
- Belgium: $13.2 billion (8.7%)
- France: $10.2 billion (6.7%)
- Canada: $6.5 billion (4.3%)
- Sweden: $5.1 billion (3.3%)
- Norway: $5.1 billion (3.3%)
- Spain: $4.8 billion (3.2%)
- Netherlands: $4.6 billion (3%)
- Australia: $3.6 billion (2.4%)
- Denmark: $3.3 billion (2.2%)
- Italy: $3.2 billion (2.1%)
- Switzerland: $3 billion (2%)
- Thailand: $2.75 billion (1.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 75.6% of all electric cars imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for electric cars since 2022 were: Thailand (up 480.6%), Australia (up 138.6%), Italy (up 129.4%) and Spain (up 117.6%).
Norway was the sole major buyer country to post a decline in imported electric cars purchases, recording a -28.4% slowdown from 2022.
Searchable List of Electric Cars Importers
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
| Rank | Importer | Electric Car Imports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $19,004,904,000 | +77.3% |
| 2. | Germany | $15,356,915,000 | +38.9% |
| 3. | United Kingdom | $14,795,118,000 | +37.2% |
| 4. | Belgium | $13,180,878,000 | +61.2% |
| 5. | France | $10,199,891,000 | +83.1% |
| 6. | Canada | $6,463,426,000 | +27.6% |
| 7. | Sweden | $5,060,428,000 | +36.1% |
| 8. | Norway | $5,055,595,000 | -28.4% |
| 9. | Spain | $4,781,159,000 | +117.6% |
| 10. | Netherlands | $4,583,314,000 | +83.9% |
| 11. | Australia | $3,581,507,000 | +138.6% |
| 12. | Denmark | $3,342,065,000 | +95.7% |
| 13. | Italy | $3,232,865,000 | +129.4% |
| 14. | Switzerland | $2,998,277,000 | +47.3% |
| 15. | Thailand | $2,751,543,000 | +480.6% |
| 16. | Türkiye | $2,598,667,000 | +345.7% |
| 17. | South Korea | $2,291,793,000 | +18.1% |
| 18. | mainland China | $2,226,146,000 | +54.1% |
| 19. | Israel | $2,109,580,000 | +45% |
| 20. | Austria | $2,086,311,000 | +48.9% |
| 21. | Japan | $1,765,121,000 | +81% |
| 22. | Finland | $1,740,585,000 | +80.8% |
| 23. | Portugal | $1,651,779,000 | +121% |
| 24. | Hong Kong | $1,490,772,000 | +47.4% |
| 25. | Taiwan | $1,427,601,000 | +60.3% |
| 26. | United Arab Emirates | $1,375,523,000 | -0.8% |
| 27. | Poland | $1,155,074,000 | +95.9% |
| 28. | Ukraine | $1,124,074,000 | +171.3% |
| 29. | Ireland | $1,081,052,000 | +84.2% |
| 30. | Jordan | $981,488,000 | +124.9% |
| 31. | New Zealand | $779,250,000 | +15.8% |
| 32. | Brazil | $767,109,000 | +205.8% |
| 33. | Malaysia | $740,692,000 | +300.4% |
| 34. | Uzbekistan | $643,676,000 | +819.6% |
| 35. | Indonesia | $531,182,000 | +184.7% |
| 36. | Romania | $527,929,000 | +44.7% |
| 37. | Mexico | $488,058,000 | +141.6% |
| 38. | Iceland | $475,206,000 | +52.2% |
| 39. | Luxembourg | $471,410,000 | +80.9% |
| 40. | Kyrgyzstan | $433,427,000 | +828.9% |
| 41. | Hungary | $394,791,000 | +117.1% |
| 42. | Russia | $336,402,000 | +142.6% |
| 43. | Czech Republic | $314,519,000 | +125.7% |
| 44. | Belarus | $306,954,000 | +275.2% |
| 45. | Greece | $291,631,000 | +156.9% |
| 46. | Slovakia | $249,262,000 | +126.9% |
| 47. | India | $230,210,000 | +157.9% |
| 48. | Saudi Arabia | $221,403,000 | +1480% |
| 49. | Slovenia | $220,463,000 | +40.8% |
| 50. | Singapore | $218,599,000 | +22.2% |
| 51. | Colombia | $212,158,000 | +271% |
| 52. | Costa Rica | $211,780,000 | +137.6% |
| 53. | Lithuania | $164,693,000 | +65.5% |
| 54. | Ethiopia | $159,855,000 | +152% |
| 55. | Nepal | $151,457,000 | +171.6% |
| 56. | Estonia | $137,783,000 | +110.7% |
| 57. | Egypt | $134,734,000 | +343% |
| 58. | Azerbaijan | $125,268,000 | +609.3% |
| 59. | Latvia | $111,146,000 | +53.9% |
| 60. | Bulgaria | $109,232,000 | +118.8% |
| 61. | Croatia | $108,262,000 | +74.6% |
| 62. | Ecuador | $86,494,000 | +506.4% |
| 63. | Philippines | $85,662,000 | +616.8% |
| 64. | Vietnam | $85,518,000 | +1169% |
| 65. | Macao | $74,317,000 | +11% |
| 66. | South Africa | $72,481,000 | +129.2% |
| 67. | Malta | $64,865,000 | +119.1% |
| 68. | Chile | $61,341,000 | +51.9% |
| 69. | Uruguay | $57,244,000 | +40.6% |
| 70. | Armenia | $56,046,000 | +92.4% |
| 71. | Mauritius | $53,325,000 | +123.2% |
| 72. | Myanmar | $51,175,000 | +300929% |
| 73. | Kazakhstan | $47,149,000 | +71.5% |
| 74. | Albania | $45,243,000 | 0% |
| 75. | Cyprus | $45,061,000 | +139.4% |
| 76. | Bangladesh | $41,224,000 | +1% |
| 77. | Morocco | $40,094,000 | +213.7% |
| 78. | Qatar | $37,813,000 | +544.5% |
| 79. | Laos | $36,870,000 | +34.9% |
| 80. | Pakistan | $34,056,000 | -21% |
| 81. | Barbados | $32,101,000 | +201.4% |
| 82. | Lebanon | $29,474,000 | -35% |
| 83. | Dominican Republic | $29,031,000 | +0.9% |
| 84. | Panama | $26,434,000 | +188.1% |
| 85. | Kuwait | $24,793,000 | +377% |
| 86. | Palestine, State of | $20,746,000 | 0% |
| 87. | Moldova | $19,586,000 | +68.8% |
| 88. | Guatemala | $16,641,000 | +331.6% |
| 89. | Peru | $15,122,000 | +202.3% |
| 90. | Cambodia | $14,797,000 | +20.3% |
| 91. | Faroe Islands | $13,934,000 | +93.5% |
| 92. | Bahrain | $12,950,000 | +1059.4% |
| 93. | Argentina | $12,268,000 | +481.4% |
| 94. | Oman | $12,074,000 | +255.6% |
| 95. | Mongolia | $11,853,000 | +89% |
| 96. | Jamaica | $9,807,000 | +221.8% |
| 97. | Andorra | $9,607,000 | +44.6% |
| 98. | Sri Lanka | $9,181,000 | +9174% |
| 99. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $8,788,000 | +294.8% |
| 100. | Paraguay | $8,301,000 | +11.4% |
Widening the scope to the top 100 importers of electric cars, the fastest growing markets are Myanmar (up 300,929%), Sri Lanka (up 9,174%), Saudi Arabia (up 1,480%), Vietnam (up 1,169%) and Bahrain (up 1,059%).
Note that an entry of 0% in the above table’s right-most column means that 2022 data was unavailable.
Electric Cars Imported into the United States
The United States of America’s global purchases of imported electric cars totaled US$19 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the US imported the highest dollar value worth of electric cars during 2023.
- Germany: US$5.6 billion (up 57.9% from 2022)
- South Korea: $4.5 billion (up 70.4%)
- Mexico: $3.8 billion (up 60.2%)
- Japan: $2.1 billion (up 489.4%)
- Belgium: $1.5 billion (up 37.5%)
- Hungary: $590.6 million (up 464.4%)
- mainland China: $378.2 million (down -12%)
- Austria: $348.4 million (up 2743.4%)
- United Kingdom: $145.8 million (up 42.6%)
- Vietnam: $43.2 million (down -22.6%)
- Croatia: $12.1 million (2022 data unavailable)
- Italy: $5.3 million (up 361.7%)
- Canada: $4.1 million (up 60.1%)
- Singapore: $3 million (2022 data unavailable)
- France: $702,000 (down -40.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.99% of the United States of America’s electric cars imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of electric cars to the United States since 2022 were: Austria (up 2,743%), Japan (up 489.4%), Hungary (up 464.4%) and Italy (up 361.7%).
Three major supplier countries experienced declines in the value of their electric cars sold to American importers namely: France (down -40.2% from 2022), Vietnam (down -22.6%) then mainland China (down -12%).
Overall, the value of the United States’ electric cars imports accelerated by an average 77.3% from all supplying countries since 2022 when electric cars purchases were valued at $10.7 billion.
Electric Cars Imported into Germany
Germany’s global purchases of imported electric cars totaled US$15.4 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Germany imported the highest dollar value worth of electric cars during 2023.
- mainland China: US$3.7 billion (up 293% from 2022)
- South Korea: $1.8 billion (up 106.1%)
- United States of America: $1.57 billion (up 128.1%)
- Czech Republic: $1.56 billion (up 47.8%)
- Belgium: $1.21 billion (down -24.7%)
- Italy: $1.18 billion (up 58%)
- United Kingdom: $1.14 billion (up 40.2%)
- France: $1 billion (down -12%)
- Spain: $762.3 million (down -46.2%)
- Japan: $410.8 million (up 187.1%)
- Slovakia: $404.8 million (down -12.3%)
- Hungary: $351.2 million (up 45.6%)
- Slovenia: $105.7 million (down -86.2%)
- Netherlands: $35.8 million (down -45.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.7% of Germany’s electric cars imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of electric cars to Germany since 2022 were: mainland China (up 293%), Japan (up 187.1%), United States of America (up 128.1%) and South Korea (up 106.1%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their electric cars supplied to German importers included: Slovenia (down -86.2% from 2022), Spain (down -46.2%) and the Netherlands (down -45.2%).
Overall, the value of Germany’s electric cars imports grew by an average 38.9% from all supplying countries since 2022 when electric cars purchases were valued at $11.1 billion.
Electric Cars Imported into the United Kingdom
Britain’s global purchases of imported electric cars totaled US$14.8 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Great Britain imported the highest dollar value worth of electric cars during 2023.
- Germany: US$5.3 billion (up 52.6% from 2022)
- mainland China: $4.6 billion (up 22%)
- South Korea: $1.4 billion (up 20.5%)
- Belgium: $831.7 million (up 47.7%)
- Japan: $607.3 million (up 314.1%)
- France: $468 million (up 25.6%)
- Czech Republic: $376.6 million (up 47.7%)
- Spain: $323.4 million (up 76%)
- Austria: $287.7 million (up 3.9%)
- Hungary: $201 million (up 94.3%)
- Mexico: $152.6 million (down -7.3%)
- United States of America: $114.4 million (down -10%)
- Italy: $96.2 million (down -14%)
- Slovakia: $59.9 million (down -40.5%)
- Netherlands: $6.9 million (up 7,138%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.9% of the United Kingdom’s electric cars imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of electric cars to the UK since 2022 were: Netherlands (up 7,138%), Japan (up 314.1%), Hungary (up 94.3%) and Spain (up 76%).
Major buyer countries that experienced declines in the value of their electric cars sold to UK importers were: Slovakia (down -40.5% from 2022), Italy (down -14%), United States of America (down -10%) and Mexico (down -7.3%).
Overall, the value of the United Kingdom’s electric cars imports rose by an average 37.2% from all supplying countries since 2022 when electric cars purchases were valued at $10.8 billion.
Electric Cars Imported into Belgium
Belgium’s global purchases of imported electric cars totaled US$13.2 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Belgium imported the highest dollar value worth of electric cars during 2023.
- Germany: US$4.6 billion (up 160.1% from 2022)
- mainland China: $3.8 billion (up 3.4%)
- Netherlands: $1.4 billion (up 294%)
- Mexico: $755.3 million (down -29.6%)
- Spain: $725.7 million (up 78.1%)
- Japan: $524.2 million (up 151%)
- France: $329.1 million (up 226.6%)
- Italy: $270.7 million (up 74.5%)
- Czech Republic: $231 million (up 301.7%)
- United States of America: $219.1 million (up 1.4%)
- South Korea: $196.2 million (up 169.3%)
- Slovakia: $30.9 million (up 6%)
- Morocco: $24.2 million (up 87.4%)
- Austria: $15.4 million (down -19.2%)
- Romania: $11.4 million (up 2164%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.7% of Belgium’s electric cars imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of electric cars to Belgium since 2022 were: Romania (up 2,164%), Czech Republic (up 301.7%), Netherlands (up 294%) and France (up 226.6%).
A pair of major supplier countries experienced declines in the value of their electric cars supplied to Belgian importers, specifically Mexico (down -29.6% from 2022) and Austria (down -19.2%).
Overall, the value of Belgium’s electric cars imports expanded by an average 61.2% from all supplying countries since 2022 when electric cars purchases were valued at $8.2 billion.
Best-Selling Electric Car Models
Listed below are the world’s most popular plug-in electric car models based on annual sales according to hybridCARS.com, an online reviewer of cars. Shown within brackets is the automobile manufacturer for each electric car model.
- Leaf (Nissan)
- Model S (Tesla)
- Volt/Ampera (General Motors)
- Outlander PHEV (Mitsubishi)
- Prius PHV (Toyota)
- Qin (BYD)
- Zoe (Renault)
- i3 BEV and Rex (BMW)
- i-MiEV (Mitsubishi)
- Tang (BYD)
See also Electric Cars Exports by Country, Cars Exports by Country, Cars Imports by Country and US Exported & Imported Cars by State
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on September 29, 2024
hybridCARS, Global 10 Best-Selling Plug-In Cars Are Accelerating Forward. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Wikipedia, List of electric cars currently available. Accessed on September 29, 2024