A personal view of Australian and International Politics

Friday, 22 May 2026

EV sales growing worldwide as China dominates but US pulls back from transition.

Extract from ABC News

By technology reporter James Purtill

16 hours ago

An aerial photo of hundreds of cars parked in front of a large ship. — China accounted for more than half of global EV sales and 80 per cent of EV battery sales last year. (Getty: Costfoto/NurPhoto)

In short:

Electric vehicles accounted for a quarter of global sales in 2025 and this figure may rise to 30 per cent this year, according to the latest annual International Energy Agency outlook report.

Higher petrol prices and the availability of affordable Chinese-made EVs are driving record sales around the world, analysis shows.

What's next?

The US is diverging from most other countries as its EV sales growth slows.

High petrol prices are driving EV sales around the world, with the leading international authority predicting 30 per cent of all new cars sold this year will be electric.

EVs accounted for a quarter of global sales in 2025 and EV sales set new records in almost 100 countries including Australia, the latest edition of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) annual Global Outlook report states.

The global comparison shows Australia's EV uptake (15 per cent of new car sales in 2025) has accelerated past the US and Canada in recent years, but fallen behind other countries

The share of EV sales in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand grew 80 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year as the US war with Iran drove up petrol prices from late February and pushed consumers to more affordable transport options.

The other main growth driver was the increasing availability of affordable Chinese-made EVs, the IEA's Alessandro Blasi said.

China accounted for 75 per cent of all EVs produced last year. Like in Australia, Chinese brands have come to dominate the EV market in many countries.

"The development that we are seeing in global car markets is actually truly staggering," Mr Blasi said.

"Chinese Imports now account for over half of electric car sales in countries outside Europe and the United States."

How China's EV industry sped away from the US's

China's dominance of global EVs was partly due to its innovation in battery technology and manufacturing, IEA technology analyst Araceli Fernandez Pales said.

"Today the price of batteries in China is lower than in any part of the world, but this wasn't always the case,"

he said.

Eight years ago, the prices of batteries in China and the US were about equal, with US companies, including Tesla and Panasonic, pushing the boundaries of energy densities and economies of scale.

The Chinese government invested heavily in the battery industry.

"Since then, we've begun to see that the pathways have begun to diverge as EV battery manufacturing in China scaled on the back of growing domestic demand," Ms Fernandez Pales said.

"By 2025, China has produced cumulatively eight times as many batteries as the US, and the result is that the average price of batteries in China is about 30 per cent lower than in the US."

China accounts for 80 per cent of battery cell production and even higher shares of production of the active materials in EV batteries.

Economies of scale and low-cost battery designs has led to cheaper EVs with longer range and shorter charge times.

In 2020, the maximum charging power of any EV model was 250kW. It's now 1,000kW, which allows vehicles to add up to 400km of range in five minutes.

workers in a car factory — Chinese manufacturers are driving growth in EV market share across South-East Asian and Latin American markets. (Reuters: Chalinee Thirasupa)

Battery technology has become an important field of innovation.

Patents related to lithium-ion batteries represent almost half of all energy-related patents and China dominates the list, Ms Fernandez Pales said.

"No other energy technology has ever commanded such a high share in global energy patents."

US pulls back from EV transition

Global sales of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles peaked in 2017, according to the IEA, which predicts EVs may account for 50 per cent of global sales by 2035.

"The recovery of the global car market since the pandemic has been exclusively driven by sales of hybrid and electric cars," Ms Fernandez Pales said.

But the US is pulling back from the EV transition as the rest of the world is accelerating.

EV sales growth in the US declined year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026 as policies to drive uptake were wound back and US car makers halted production of some EV models.

In Europe, sales increased by close to 30 per cent year-on-year; in the Asia Pacific region excluding China, sales jumped by 80 per cent; and in Latin America, they were up by 75 per cent.

The IEA report states:

"Even without any new policy announcements, the global fleet of EVs is projected to grow more than sixfold by 2035 from 2025 levels, to reach as many as 510 million."

The peak body for the industry in Australia, the EV Council (EVC), said battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for a quarter of sales over the past two months, mirroring this international growth.

EV sales in Australia were up 65 per cent year-on year in the first quarter of 2026.

"With surging petrol prices and geopolitical uncertainty, people around the world are making the sensible decision to step into EVs," head of policy Aman Gaur said.

Cubans describe life under oil blockade and uncertainty over America's next move.

Extract from ABC News

Rubbish is piled up by the side of a street.

By Emilie Gramenz in Washington DC and Harvey Lujes in Havana

Topic:World Politics

1 hours ago

The colourful charm of Cuba's capital, Havana, has long made it a magnet for tourists from abroad.

That's why Betty* decided to start a tour guide business after moving there a couple of years ago.

Betty had been forced to leave her home city, further inland, because power blackouts had become crippling. Sometimes, the electricity was out for 16 hours a day.

Her tourism business became the main source of income for her family.

But now, as the US blocks oil shipments to Cuba and power constantly goes out across the country, the tourism industry is "all but dead", she says.

"You can no longer find streets packed with travellers, music and dance," Betty told the ABC.

"Only Cuban nationals, still attempting to take some bread home."

Two men drag water containers along a road. — Some homes in Cuba have been without a water supply for months. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

A woman walks a dog along a street that is lined with rubbish. — Poor sanitation is contributing to the spread of disease. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Cuba has been subject to punishing American sanctions since 1960, shortly after Fidel Castro and his forces took power and seized foreign assets.

In the months leading up to this week's arrest warrant for Fidel Castro's brother, former president Raúl Castro, the Trump administration intensified the pressure campaign.

The US has maintained an effective blockade of energy to Cuba since January, when it threatened tariffs on any country that provided oil.

It had already stopped Venezuelan oil exports after toppling that country's leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January.

Mexico had been a major supplier. By early February, it had halted its shipments.

One Russian oil tanker was allowed through the US blockade at the end of March, easing the crisis for about a month.

Those supplies are now exhausted.

Russia has sent another tanker, but it's not clear if it will be allowed to dock.

A woman rides a bike beside a collapsed building. — Havana bears the signs of decades of neglect. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

A gutted, wheel-less car is sen on a street lined by colourful buildings. — Prices have rocketed, and many businesses have closed. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

For now, Betty travels around Havana to friends' homes who might have power, so she can use the internet to try to reach potential foreign visitors.

"Old Havana, once the main hub of visitors, is but a ghost town," she said

"Prices have skyrocketed for the only still-standing businesses to stay afloat."

'One of the dirtiest cities in Latin America'

Betty is plagued by another worry: a toothache that she says hospitals will be unable to address due to a lack of power and supplies.

She is searching for treatment options on the black market, as Cuba's healthcare system plunges deeper into crisis.

UN officials estimate there are 100,000 patients, including 11,000 children, waiting for surgeries delayed by power and supply shortages.

Rubbish is piled up by the side of a street. — Mosquito-borne and water-borne diseases are spreading. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Sewage infrastructure is breaking down, causing disease. Mosquitoes are spreading illness, too.

Francisco, who lives just east of Havana in an area called Alamar, said both he and his wife had been infected with the debilitating mosquito-borne chikungunya virus. Both had also had hepatitis A.

"I dare say that Havana has become one of the dirtiest cities in Latin America," Francisco said.

"Another very serious problem is garbage collection.

"Without fuel, the garbage isn't being collected. More than a month goes by without collection, and the townspeople, in protest, start burning it."

Where he lives, the electricity supply has dwindled to just six hours a day, three in the morning and three at night.

A man rides a bike by a laneway. — Cuba has been under a US embargo since 1960. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Broken rubbish bines line a laneway. — Many Cubans are now wondering what the US will do next. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Bracing for a summer of blackouts

Summer is now setting in in tropical Cuba.

The heat means food wastes in refrigerators with no power supply.

Lucia, who lives in a neighbourhood in central Havana, says it is getting harder for people to sleep at night.

"Sometimes when it's like 20 hours of blackouts, it's all night long," she said.

"There are mosquitoes in the night. I think that's why people are so stressed, because they're not able to sleep.

"If you go walking by the street, you can hear people talking, and everybody's talking about the same subject … how hard it is, how many hours without electricity."

A man sits in a chair outside a building in a dark street at night. — Cuba experiences intense summers. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

A group of men play dominoes at an outdoor table in a dark street, with just one small table light for lighting. — Across the country, power supplies have become intermittent and unreliable. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Before the US blockade, she said, the power crisis was more manageable.

"There were already a lot of blackouts, but it was more organised, if I can say.

"Every neighbourhood [block] had a schedule, so you know when you were going to have light, like, four hours a day, four hours yes, four hours no."

The US says Cuba is a national security threat.

The Trump order that threatened tariffs on its oil suppliers pointed to the regime's collaboration with Chinese and Russian intelligence, among others.

The Trump administration ultimately wants regime change.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said some sort of diplomatic solution was "our preference", but "the likelihood of that happening, given who we're dealing with, is not high".

In a Spanish-language video message addressing Cubans this week, he said: "The real reason you don't have electricity, fuel or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people."

Without oil, few cars are on the road and public transport has essentially stopped working. A new wave of tuktuk drivers is replacing it.

Almost all the lights are out in a Havana street, where a motorbike and rickshaw-like vehicle are driving. — Tuktuks are replacing other forms of transport. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

A service station is lit up in a dark streetscape. All the lights in nearby buildings and streetlights are out. — Petrol supplies have been cut off. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

But Lucia says the hardest part of the crisis is the lack of water. Her building's water supply has been cut off for six months.

She walks half a block to fill a bucket for cooking and showering, lugging the water up several floors to her apartment. The supplies run out quickly, so people have to get up early or miss out.

"You can live without electricity," Lucia said, "but living without water is just not possible."

Protesters risk brutal punishment

Sporadic and small protests broke out last week as the island's energy reserves ran out.

It was a sign of just how desperate people had become, says Havana-born Sebastian Arcos, who is now the interim director of the Institute for Cuban Studies at Florida International University (FIU).

"This is a police state, a totalitarian society. Political opposition, particularly open political opposition, is severely punished," he said.

A man rides a motorbike with a woman on the back beside crumbling buildings. — Many Cubans say political change is urgent. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Particularly notable were the protests in Havana, where Mr Arcos says the regime conducts the most surveillance.

"That unwritten contract between a totalitarian society and the population where totalitarians say, 'We're going to take away your freedoms but at least we're going to give you the basic standards of living,' in Cuba, it's gone, it's disappeared," he says.

"[The regime] has shown over the last 30 years that they are willing to sacrifice the welfare of the Cuban population in order to remain in power."

A child and a man stand behind gates in the doorway of a graffitied building. — Cubans have become "cannon fodder" in a conflict between two governments, one expert says. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

A man walks by a street that is strewn with rubbish. — UN officials believe 100,000 people are waiting for surgeries that have been postponed. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

The restrictions on free speech mean public opinion is difficult to accurately measure.

In one recent online survey, which attracted 42,000 voluntary responses, 94 per cent of respondents living in Cuba said political change was urgent.

Fifty-six per cent expressed support for US military intervention, and more than three-quarters said the US embargo should stay in place, either in whole or in part.

Support for the US embargo and military intervention was even stronger among the surveyed diaspora.

'Stuck between two psychopaths'

Michael Bustamante, a Cuba expert at Florida University, says the Cuban people have become "cannon fodder" in a conflict between two governments that has been running for some 70 years.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking what they're enduring in this moment," he said.

"I can't imagine having to wake up at three in the morning because the lights are going to come on for an hour, that's the hour I'm going to have to cook what little food hasn't already gone rotten in my refrigerator.

"It's the Cuban people that are bearing the brunt of the effects both of incredible economic coercion from the United States, but also years and years of a lack of internal reform."

People sit beside the sea. — Daily life continues amid the uncertainty. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

A boy jumps from rocks into the ocean as other children sit and watch. — Many Cubans have grown up under totalitarian rule. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Lucia describes the situation as "like being stuck between two psychopaths".

"I feel very angry to both sides, to be honest."

She thinks the US hopes of a civil uprising are unrealistic.

"In other countries, for much less than what's happening here, people go out to the streets and protest," she said.

"Here I think people are very scared, and I think they just don't have faith in the possibility of making something change that way."

But she also wants the US to stay out.

"I don't really want the US to come here. I don't think they really care about democracy or our liberty or something. I think they have other interests.

"If somebody cared about democracy or human rights or whatever, they would have already done something."

* Names have been changed.

A pink convertible is parked in the street. — About 10 million people live in Cuba. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Buildings stand in disrepair beside a road. — Cubans say many people in the country are living in fear. (ABC News: Harvey Lujes)

Ben-Gvir's actions criticised by Israeli ambassador to Australia, who also says flotilla was a problem.

Extract from ABC News

13 hours ago

Two young men and a young woman look seriously at the camera inside a grey-walled room. — Ethan Floyd, Neve O'Connor and Zack Schofield in a still from their video message. (Supplied)

Israel's ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, has stopped short of apologising to the Global Sumud Flotilla activists detained in Israel, who far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had taunted.

He also told 7.30 that activists on the flotilla had not been harmed, but Australian man Chris O'Connor, whose daughter Neve was on board, rejected that claim as untrue.

Mr Ben-Gvir, who is Israel's national security minister, has been condemned by world leaders for a video in which he is seen taunting some of the more than 400 activists the Israeli military brought to the country's Ashdod Port, after detaining them in international waters.

Mr Newman said the Israeli government joined them in condemning Mr Ben-Gvir’s actions.

"The actions of Ben-Gvir himself have been condemned from wall-to-wall," Mr Newman told 7.30.

"The leadership of Israel has condemned what he did. It's disgraceful.

"That's the approach of the government of Israel.

"The prime minister of Israel, the foreign minister of Israel, [they] have all condemned thoroughly the actions of Ben-Gvir."

Ben-Gvir looks furious as he points at prisoners during a visit. — Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reacts as flotilla activists are detained by Israeli forces. (Supplied: Office Of Itamar Ben Gvir/Handout)

Federal government MP Julian Hill earlier called for Mr Ben-Gvir to be sacked while speaking to the ABC.

"To tolerate that man remaining a cabinet minister for one more day seems unconscionable," Mr Hill said.

"If Prime Minister Netanyahu were serious about those values and Israel's reputation, he'd sack him."

Asked on 7.30 if Mr Netanyahu should fire Mr Ben-Gvir, the ambassador said Israel was heading to the polls soon, and he wouldn’t share political advice.

"The law in Israel is such that when a transitional government begins, you cannot expel," Mr Newman said.

"You can't change the format of a government until we go to elections."

Denials of violence

Mr Newman also denied that anyone on the flotilla would have been hurt and told 7.30 that any past or current allegations of violence or sexual humiliation were untrue.

A man talking at a press conference inside Parliament House. — Israel's ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman says Israel's leadership condemns the actions of Itamar Ben-Gvir. (ABC News: Mark Moore)

"There's been no sexual humiliation," he said.

"I refute that completely.

"There's been no sexual attacks of any kind against the flotilla people.

"There are many accusations that are thrown out there, which are untrue. The government of Israel and the security forces of Israel have intercepted all these flotillas with great sensitivity.

"No one was hurt. The interception was done very smoothly."

That comment was rejected by Mr O'Connor, who alleged that beatings and rape had occurred.

"I absolutely reject that," he told 7.30.

"I will share with you what Neve has told me.

"The first time she was held hostage, she was beaten, and she was subject to psychological torture.

"She was hospitalised in Crete. And as she said to me, the beatings were not bad compared to what happened to men of colour.

"When she arrived in Türkiye, she was really weighing up whether she would do the final leg to Gaza.

"Part of the reason was that she spoke to two people who had [allegedly] been raped two weeks ago on the prison ship, one male, one female."

people kneeling on the ground as armed soldiers watch over — A screenshot from the video posted by Itamar Ben-Gvir. (X: itamarbengvir)

Mr O'Connor then said his daughter told him she felt she needed to rejoin the flotilla for moral reasons before he detailed more allegations as to where her alleged beating occurred.

"It was on the prison ship, and it was the IOF or the IDF," he said.

"She said she was kneed in the face [and was] punched in the ribs.

"The psychological torture she had was being in a stress position for many hours. They were sprayed with water and were subject to hypothermic conditions overnight.

"There were plenty of photos of people who had bruises."

a war boat driving towards photographer — Israeli vessels approaching the flotilla. (Supplied: Global Sumud Flotilla)

'Unnecessary provocation'

After defending Israel's actions but condemning Mr Ben-Gvir, the Israeli ambassador said the fact that the flotilla existed at all was problematic.

"The flotilla itself is a provocation which is unnecessary," he said.

"It's trying to break a legal blockade of Gaza, which is necessary for the security of the people of Israel."

Eleven Australians were among the hundreds detained from the flotilla.

A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday that the government wanted to "see all detained Australians released as soon as possible".

"The Australian government is engaging with Israeli authorities on the welfare of detained Australians involved in the flotilla and making preparations to visit them at the earliest opportunity," they said.

On 7.30, Mr Newman was asked if Israel had given Australia any guarantees that they would not be harmed.

He said that all the 400-plus people on the flotilla are now in the process of being deported.

"No one is in harm's way."

Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV

Thursday, 21 May 2026

Far-right Israeli minister taunts detained activists from Global Sumud Flotilla in video.

Extract from ABC News

By Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran

Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War

6 hours ago

In short:

Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has posted video of himself taunting activists who were detained from the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The video also showed the activists were forced to kneel on the ground with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, while the Israeli national anthem is played over loudspeakers.

What's next?

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she has asked Australia's ambassador to Israel to make representations there and "reiterating our call for the release of the detained Australians for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations".

Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has posted video of himself taunting detained activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, as some of the group are pushed and dragged along the ground by Israeli forces.

The video, posted with the caption "welcome to Israel", also shows the activists forced to kneel on the ground with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, while the Israeli national anthem is played over loudspeakers.

Hundreds of activists trying to break Israel's almost two decade long maritime blockade of Gaza started being intercepted by Israeli forces on Monday in the Mediterranean sea, off the coast of Cyprus.

Among those detained are 11 Australians, and they were taken to Israel on board navy ships, docking in Ashdod port on Wednesday.

Australia's Foreign Minister said the video was "shocking and unacceptable".

"We condemn the actions of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir — who Australia has sanctioned — and the degrading actions of Israeli authorities towards those detained," she said in a statement to the ABC.

"I have asked Australia's Ambassador to Israel to make representations to Israel, reiterating our call for the release of the detained Australians and for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations."

The video prompted a rare rebuke from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made Mr Ben-Gvir the minister responsible for police and prisons as part of his coalition deal.

"Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.

"However, the way that Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel's values and norms.

"I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as soon as possible."

The video also prompted condemnation from Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who accused his cabinet colleague of having "caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display — and not for the first time".

"You have undone tremendous, professional, and successful efforts made by so many people — from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry staff and many others," he posted on X.

"No, you are not the face of Israel."

'Treatment that violates human dignity'

European governments also lined up to criticise the display.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni labelled the spectacle as "unacceptable," saying the group were being subjected to "treatment that violates human dignity".

a screenshot of a tweet that says 'The images of the Israeli minister Ben Gvir are unacceptable.' — Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni posted to social media platform X to condem the video. (X: @GiorgiaMeloni)

"The Italian Government is immediately taking, at the highest institutional levels, all necessary steps to secure the immediate release of the Italian citizens involved," she posted on X.

"Italy further demands an apology for the treatment reserved to these demonstrators and for the total contempt shown toward the explicit requests of the Italian Government."

Ms Meloni also said Israel's Ambassador in Rome would be summoned to answer questions about the situation.

France also called in Israel's envoy in Paris.

"Whatever one thinks of this flotilla — and we have indicated on several occasions our disapproval of this initiative — our compatriots who are participating in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on social media.

Pattern of behaviour, lawyers say

It is not the first time Mr Ben-Gvir has behaved in such a fashion, visiting previous groups of activists who were intercepted at sea to criticise their conduct.

The Adalah Center, acting as lawyers for the group, said the video was evidence of a pattern of behaviour.

"Following the illegal interception of the flotillas in international waters and the illegal kidnapping of over 400 activists from around the world, Israel is pursuing a policy of abuse and humiliation against activists who oppose its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people," it said in a statement.

three people in life jackets on a boat — Australians Sam Woripa Watson (left) and Anny Mokotow (middle) are in the group of detainees. (Supplied: Global Sumud Flotilla)

"These events come after Adalah has documented numerous past cases of violent treatment of activists in previous flotillas, for which Israel has not borne any responsibility.

"Adalah's lawyers, along with a dedicated team of volunteers, entered the port facilities in recent hours, are providing them with legal advice, and will continue to demand their immediate and unconditional release."

The lawyers demanded the international community step in and pressure the Israeli government to protect the activists.

Israel insists blockade lawful

The Israeli government has labelled the Global Sumud Flotilla crews as attention-seeking provocateurs, and accused them of doing the bidding of Hamas and carrying little to no aid on their voyage.

They are accusations the activists have repeatedly denied, who argued their mission is designed to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the cruel policies of the Israeli government against the Palestinian population.

Israel has insisted its maritime blockade of Gaza is lawful to protect its national security.

But the flotilla crews have labelled Israel’s enforcement of the policy, intercepting ships in international waters, is akin to piracy.

Israeli forces intercept Gaza flotilla (Supplied: Global Sumud Flotilla)

In recent days the ABC has asked Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s office for comment, multiple times, on whether Australia believes Israel’s blockade and its actions during the interceptions was appropriate.

A specific response has not been provided.

“The Australian Government is engaging with Israeli authorities on the welfare of detained Australians involved in the flotilla and making preparations to visit them at the earliest opportunity,” a spokesperson for Senator Wong said on Tuesday.

“We want to see all detained Australians released as soon as possible.

“Australian officials continue to make clear to Israel our expectation that any detainees receive humane treatment in line with international norms.”

The spokesperson said Senator Wong arranged for the Australians joining the flotilla to receive a briefing from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade before they left.

“DFAT strongly encouraged them not to participate, given the risks to their safety and that of others,” they said.

“We continue to encourage those wishing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza to do so through established channels.”

In October last year flotilla crews intercepted off the coast of Egypt were taken to Ashdod Port, before being transferred to Israel’s Ketziot prison.

Australians in that group, some of whom are among this latest flotilla, accused Israeli authorities of serious mistreatment.

The Israeli government denied the allegations.