New-car registrations in the European Union rose 5.3% year to date through August 2026, while the market’s powertrain mix shifted further toward electrified vehicles. Battery-electric cars accounted for 21.7% of registrations, according to ACEA figures, up from 15.8% in the first eight months of 2025.
Battery-electric registrations pass 1.64 million
A total of 1,641,333 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in the EU between January and August 2026. Their 21.7% share placed BEVs level with petrol cars, which also represented 21.7% of the market over the period.
The largest gains in BEV registrations came from several important European electric-car markets. France recorded a 74.2% increase, Germany rose 53.1%, and Denmark grew 40.9%. Belgium posted a more modest, though still positive, increase of 13.1%.
France, Germany, Denmark and Belgium together accounted for about 64% of EU battery-electric registrations during the first eight months of the year. The concentration underlines the importance of a small group of large and advanced EV markets to the region’s overall electric-car growth.
The figures point to a substantial acceleration in the shift away from conventional combustion-powered cars. BEVs added 5.9 percentage points of EU market share compared with the same period a year earlier.
Hybrids remain the largest powertrain segment
Despite the rapid expansion of battery-electric cars, hybrid-electric vehicles remained Europe’s most popular new-car choice. Hybrid registrations reached 2,759,718 units through August, equivalent to a 36.6% market share.
Hybrid demand increased in several major EU markets, although growth rates were lower than those reported for BEVs in France and Germany. Spain recorded a 21% rise in hybrid registrations, while Italy grew by 20.5%. Germany increased 5.2%, and France recorded growth of 1.8%.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) also gained share. EU registrations totalled 758,082 units in the first eight months of 2026, taking their share of the market to 10%, compared with 8.8% a year earlier.
Italy was the strongest major market for PHEV growth, with registrations up 77.6%. Spain followed with a 33.9% increase, while Germany recorded growth of 15.6%.
Petrol and diesel market share falls to 29%
Petrol and diesel cars continued to lose ground as electrified powertrains expanded. Their combined share of new EU registrations fell to 29%, compared with 37.5% in the first eight months of 2025.
Petrol registrations declined 18.6% across the EU to 1,634,733 vehicles. Petrol’s market share dropped from 28% a year earlier to 21.7% in 2026. France recorded the sharpest decline among the major markets, with petrol registrations down 35.8%.
Elsewhere, petrol registrations fell 21.9% in Germany, 18.5% in Spain and 16.7% in Italy. Diesel registrations also declined by 18.6% across the EU, reducing diesel’s market share to 7.3%, from 9.4% in the corresponding period of 2025.
The latest registration data show that the EU new-car market is increasingly defined by electrified vehicles. Hybrids still hold the largest individual share, but battery-electric cars are growing quickly, while petrol and diesel sales are contracting across the region’s largest automotive markets.
