With a 27% share, electric cars are gaining ground in the EU: 44% more were sold in the first half of 2026 compared to gasoline cars, which saw a 19% decline.

Electric cars continue to gain ground in Europe and have already surpassed gasoline models in quarterly registrations. During the third quarter of 2026, pure electric vehicles accounted for 27% of the market share in the European Union (EU), compared to 19% for gasoline cars. Additionally, their sales were 44% higher than those of gasoline cars.

The data comes from the latest tracking of the European electric vehicle market conducted by Transport & Environment (T&E), whose analysis shows that the third quarter set new records for electric cars: 13 of the EU’s 27 countries recorded their highest quarterly registrations for pure electric vehicles.

A significant development so far this year

From January to September 2026, battery electric vehicles achieved a 22.7% market share in the European Union, up from 16.1% during the same nine months in 2025, representing a growth of nearly 7 percentage points. In terms of registrations, 1.93 million units were recorded, which is 48.5% more than in the same period of the previous year.

But it is the comparison with internal combustion vehicles that allows for an even better appreciation of the changes occurring in the market. While electric vehicles see rising registrations, gasoline cars continue to lose buyers. According to data from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), registrations of gasoline cars dropped by 19.1% between January and September, falling to approximately 1.8 million units. As a result, their market share declined from 27.7% to 21.2%.

A similar trend, though even more pronounced, occurs with diesel vehicles, whose registrations fell by 19.5% during the first nine months of the year, accounting for only 7.1% of the European market.

The progress is not limited to pure electric vehicles.

In addition to EVs, plug-in hybrids are also showing positive growth, with a total of 860,257 units registered in the EU from January to September—18.6% more than the previous year—and accounting for a 10.1% market share. Nevertheless, conventional hybrids remain the most popular technology, with 3.09 million units representing 36.3% of the market.

While the trend is positive, the growth of electric cars is not uniform across all countries. Among the major markets, France stands out with a 79.1% increase in electric car registrations during the first nine months of 2026. Germany also recorded significant growth at 58.1%, while Denmark saw an increase of 40.3%. Belgium, on the other hand, experienced more moderate growth of 15.7%.

In Spain, registrations of pure electric vehicles rose by 39.5% over those nine months, reaching 100,508 units, but their market share remained at 11%, still below the European average.

Regarding the development of the European automobile market in the first nine months of the year, ACEA states: “The new passenger car market in the EU showed notable resilience, with a 5.7% increase so far this year, despite a complex macroeconomic environment marked by persistent energy price rises and geopolitical headwinds.”