Fuel Revolution: Which Cars Are Being Bought in the EU

The European Union’s primary automotive market is showing steady overall growth, accompanied by significant structural changes in purchasing preferences. According to official data from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), the European market for new passenger cars grew by 4.5% on a year-on-year basis in August, reaching 708.2 thousand units. Overall, more than 7.5 million new passenger cars have been registered in the EU since the start of the year, which is 5.3% higher than last year’s figures.

In the August registration rankings by powertrain type, self-charging hybrids firmly hold the top position, with sales reaching 234,980 units (+2.2%).

The electric vehicle segment delivered a real sensation, finishing second with 196,486 units and showing a record increase of 62.7%. In contrast, traditional gasoline models dropped to third place with 133,816 vehicles, experiencing a sharp decline of 24.6%.

Plug-in hybrids took fourth place with 78,426 units (+10.8%). Completing the fuel category are diesel passenger cars, whose registrations fell by 23.8% to 45,403 units, as well as vehicles powered by other alternative energy sources (gas, hydrogen), which accounted for 19,100 units (-0.3%). Thus, the combined share of electrified models and electric cars clearly exceeded half of all August sales in the European Union.