New car registrations: +5.7% in H1 2026; battery-electric 20.7% market share
New EU car registrations rose by 5.7% year-to-date, with a strong performance in June contributing to a positive first half of 2026. This came against a backdrop of persistent geopolitical headwinds weighing on the outlook.
The market continued to benefit from robust consumer demand for a range of electrified technologies, driven primarily by market support measures. Hybrid-electric vehicles lead as the most popular powertrain choice among buyers, while battery-electric cars reached 20.7%. In addition, plug-in hybrids captured 9.8% of the EU market.
New EU car registrations by power source
Up until June 2026, battery-electric cars held a 20.7% share of the EU market, up from 15.6% a year earlier. Hybrid-electric car registrations captured 37.3% of the market, remaining the preferred choice among consumers in the EU. At the same time, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 29.7%, compared with 37.8% a year earlier.
Electric cars
In the first half of 2026, 1,220,890 new battery-electric cars were registered, capturing 20.7% of the EU market. Three of the four largest EU markets, which together accounted for 63% of all battery-electric car registrations, experienced strong growth: France (+62.9%), Germany (+48%), and Denmark (+41.2%). Belgium also posted an increase (+8.2%), albeit at a more moderate pace.
H1 2026’s figures also showed new EU hybrid-electric car registrations rising to 2,198,148 units, supported by growth in Italy (+23%) and Spain (+20.8%), with Germany (+6.9%) and France (+3.2%) also recording increases. Overall, hybrid-electric models accounted for 37.3% of the total EU market.
Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars continued to grow, reaching 577,735 units in H1 2026. This was driven by rising volumes in key markets such as Italy (+84.3%), Spain (+39%), and Germany (+17.9%). New plug-in-hybrid electric cars now represent 9.8% of EU registrations, up from 8.5% over the same period in 2025.
Petrol and diesel cars
By the end of June 2026, petrol car registrations declined by 17.2%, with decreases across all major markets. France registered the strongest drop, with volumes falling by 34.2%, while other key markets also posted double-digit decreases: Spain (-18.5%), Germany (-18.2%), and Italy (-17.1%).
With 1,309,153 new cars registered in the first six months of 2026, the market share for petrol fell to 22.2% from 28.4% in H1 2025. Meanwhile, the diesel car market continued its downward trend, with registrations declining by 16.5% and accounting for 7.5% of new car registrations, down from 9.4%.
New EU car registrations rose by 5.7% year-to-date, with a strong performance in June contributing to a positive first half of 2026. This came against a backdrop of persistent geopolitical headwinds weighing on the outlook.
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