Battery-electric vehicles strengthened their position in the European Union during the first half of 2026, reaching a 20.7% market share, up from 15.6% in the same period last year.

Between January and June, 1,220,890 new battery-electric cars were registered across the EU. Growth was supported by three of the four largest markets for this technology, which together accounted for 63% of all battery-electric registrations.

France recorded the strongest increase, with registrations rising by 62.9%, followed by Germany at 48% and Denmark at 41.2%. Belgium also posted growth, although at a more moderate rate of 8.2%.

The expansion of the battery-electric segment came as the overall EU car market improved. New car registrations increased by 5.7% year-on-year in the first half, supported by a strong performance in June and robust demand for electrified technologies.

Electrified vehicles dominate the market

Hybrid-electric cars remained the most popular powertrain choice among European buyers. A total of 2,198,148 units were registered during the first six months of the year, representing 37.3% of the EU market.

Italy led growth in this segment, with registrations increasing by 23%, followed by Spain at 20.8%. Germany and France recorded more moderate rises of 6.9% and 3.2%, respectively.

Plug-in hybrid registrations also continued to expand, reaching 577,735 units. Their market share increased from 8.5% in the first half of 2025 to 9.8% in 2026.

Growth in the plug-in hybrid segment was led by Italy, where registrations surged by 84.3%. Spain posted a 39% increase, while Germany recorded growth of 17.9%.

Combined, battery-electric, hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles represented nearly 68% of all new car registrations in the EU during the period.

Petrol and diesel fall below a combined 30%

The growth of electrified technologies contrasted with the continued decline of combustion-engine vehicles. The combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 29.7%, compared with 37.8% a year earlier.

Petrol car registrations declined by 17.2%, to 1,309,153 units. As a result, their market share dropped from 28.4% to 22.2%.

France recorded the sharpest decline, with registrations falling by 34.2%, followed by Spain (-18.5%), Germany (-18.2%) and Italy (-17.1%).

Diesel registrations maintained their downward trend, decreasing by 16.5%. Their share of the EU new car market fell from 9.4% to 7.5%.