Electric Car Sales (ESP) are gaining ground, with sales increasing by over 20% year on year to 21 million units in 2025, according to The International Energy Agency. However, the growth rate of sales is slowing due to affordability constraints, trade friction, and shifting government incentives. Companies in the electric vehicle category are seeing increased investment this year, with around $3.6 billion of this year's total for companies in the space so far in 2026 spread across about 50 rounds, but still nowhere near the 2021 cyclical peak of nearly $19 billion. The largest round tied to the EV space this year went to Wayve, a developer of autonomous driving technology tested on EVs, raising $1.2 billion in a February financing at an $8.6bn valuation. However this is not the first time nearly $18bn has been invested in global EV startups.