Europe New Car Sales Fall in January, Battery-Electric Share Rises

24 February 2026

In January 2026, new EU car registrations fell by 3.9% compared to January last year, marking a second consecutive challenging start to the year for the market.

The battery-electric car market share reached 19.3%, highlighting the continued potential for further growth.

Hybrid-electric vehicles lead as the most popular power type choice among buyers, with plug-in hybrids consolidating their position in the market, underlining the importance of a technology-neutral pathway to decarbonisation.

New EU car registrations by power source

Battery-electric cars accounted for 19.3% of the EU market share in January 2026, an increase from the low baseline of 14.9% one year earlier.

Hybrid-electric car registrations captured 38.6% of the market, remaining the preferred choice among consumers in the EU. Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 30.1%, down from 39.5% in January 2025.

Electric cars

In January 2026, 154,230 new battery-electric cars were registered, capturing 19.3% of the EU market share.

The four largest markets in the EU, which together account for 60% of battery-electric car registrations, delivered mixed results: France (+52.1%) and Germany (+23.8%) recorded strong growth, while Belgium (-11.5%) and the Netherlands (-35.4%) experienced declines.

January 2026 figures also showed new EU hybrid-electric car registrations rising to 308,364 units, supported by growth in Italy (+24.9%) and Spain (+9%), while France remained stable.

Completing the four major markets, Germany recorded a decline of 1.8% compared with January 2025.

Overall, hybrid-electric models accounted for 38.6% of the total EU market.

Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars continue to show strong growth, reaching 78,741 units in the first month of 2026.

This was driven by rising volumes in key markets such as Italy (+134.2%), Spain (+66.7%), and Germany (+23%).

As a result, new plug-in-hybrid electric cars now represent 9.8% of EU registrations, up from 7.4% in January last year.

Petrol and diesel cars

In January 2026, petrol car registrations dropped by 28.2%, with all major markets experiencing decreases.

France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 48.9%, followed by Germany (-29.9%), Italy (-25.5%), and Spain (-22.5%).

With 175,989 new cars registered last month, the market share for petrol fell to 22% from 29.5% in the same month last year.

The diesel car market continued its downward trend, with registrations declining by 22.3% and accounting for 8.1% of new car registrations last January.

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