In January-February 2026, year-to-date (YTD), new EU car registrations fell by 1.2% compared to the same period last year, easing the challenging start to the year witnessed in January (-3.9%). In February alone, sales rose by 1.4%.
The battery-electric car market share reached 18.8% YTD, highlighting the continued potential for further growth. These are data from the European Car Manufacturers Association ACEA.
“Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) lead as the most popular powertrain choice among buyers, with plug-in hybrids consolidating their position in the market, underscoring the importance of a technology-neutral pathway to decarbonisation,” the association commented.
By power source
Battery-electric cars accounted for 18.8% of the EU market share in January-February 2026, an increase from 15.2% one year earlier. Hybrid-electric car registrations captured 38.7% of the market, remaining the preferred choice among consumers in the EU.
Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 30.6%, down from 38.7% over the same period in 2025. This means that HEVs now occupy a market share that was still held by petrol and diesel cars a year ago. It also means that electrified cars (BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs) now represent almost 7 out of 10 cars (67.3%) on the market.
Electric
From January to February 2026, 312,369 new battery-electric cars were registered, capturing 18.8% of the EU market share. The four largest markets in the EU, which together account for 61% of battery-electric car registrations, delivered mixed results: France (+38.5%) and Germany (+26.3%) recorded strong growth, while Belgium (-11%) and especially the
Netherlands (-34.9%) experienced substantial declines. In the month of February (YOY), BEV sales rose by 20.6%.
Hybrid
February 2026 YTD figures also showed new EU hybrid-electric car (HEV) registrations rising to 643,898 units, supported by growth in Italy (+29.5%) and Spain (+13.4%), while Germany remained quite stable (+1.1%). Completing the four major markets, France recorded a 3.9% decline compared with the first two months of 2025. Overall, hybrid-electric models
accounted for 38.7% of the total EU market. Year over year, HEVs increased by 8.3% in February 2026.
Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) continue to grow strongly, reaching 162,751 units in the first two months of 2026. This was driven by rising volumes in key markets such as Italy (+116.1%), Spain (+71.5%), and Germany (+23.8%). As a result, new plug-in-hybrid electric cars now represent 9.8% of EU registrations, up from 7.4% in the same period last year. In February alone, PHEV sales increased by 30.6%.
Petrol and diesel
In February 2026 YTD, petrol car registrations fell by 23.3%, with all major markets recording declines. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 48.5%, followed by Germany (-22.8%), Spain (-20.8%), and Italy (-18.6%). In February 2026, the decrease in the EU was 17.8%.
With 374,774 new cars registered in the last two months, the market share for petrol fell to 22.5% from 29% in the same period last year. The diesel car market continued its downward trend, with registrations declining by 17.7% and accounting for 8.1% of new car registrations from January to February.
Looking at the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland) and the United Kingdom, we register some differences. BEV sales slowed in the EFTA countries, especially in Norway (-47.2%), but that’s because the overall car market was very weak there in February (-48.1%).
In the UK, we still see an increase for all electrified vehicles in February, but the growth is mostly concentrated on PHEVs (+43.5%). Petrol and diesel also continue their decline, down 8.3% and 23%, respectively.
By make
Looking at the first two months of 2026, the Volkswagen Group is still, and by far, the largest seller in the EU, with a 27% market share and almost stable sales (-0.7%) compared to last year. Stellantis Group is number two, recovering from very poor results earlier and now registering a 9.5% sales increase and a growth in market share from 16.5% to 18.3%.
Renault Group stays third but sees its market share decline from 11.4% to 9.7%, largely due to a 16.1% sales decline. Toyota Group is number four, with 7.6% market share, despite a 7.7% sales decline, while Hyundai Group stays fifth, with 6.9% market share, despite a 9.2% sales decline.
Sixth is BMW, with 6.6% market share, still very near the Hyundai group, despite a 3.6% sales decline. Mercedes-Benz comes seventh, confirming its 4.5% market share and registering almost the same sales as last year in the same period (-1.2%).
Both German premium manufacturers are followed by Ford (2.5% market share, -21.5% sales decrease), and Volvo Cars (2.0% market share, -12.8% in sales). Nissan (-12.2% in sales) lost its place in the top 10, now occupied by China’s leading European importer, SAIC, with 1.9% market share and a 6.6% sales increase.
On twelftth place, the second Chinese brand is already emerging, by far the biggest grower on the market: BYD. It already has 1.8% market share and has increased sales by 179.2%. It has overtaken Suzuki, which is now 13th with a 1.4% market share, due to a 14% sales decline.
Tesla is slowly recovering from its significant sales declines over the last few years, climbing to 14th place and increasing sales by 16.7% and its market share from 1.1 to 1.3%. Mazda is fifteenth (1.1% share, +0.5% in sales), followed by the Jaguar Land Rover group, which lost 14.3% of sales again and now represents 0.5% of the entire market. No single Jaguar was sold in these first two months of the year anymore.
With sales up 14.3%, Honda secures 17th place and 0.5% market share, while Mitsubishi (18th) sees its market share halved to 0.2% due to a 43.3% sales decline.
Adding the EFTA and UK sales results to the equation yields almost no change, except that Hyundai Group moves into fourth place and Toyota is relegated to fifth.
