EU New Registrations in August 2026: Electric Cars Surpass Gas Engines

By August 2026, 1.64 million electric cars had been newly registered in the EU, 44.9 percent more than the previous year. With a 21.7 percent market share, they are now on par with gasoline cars, which are losing ground significantly.

Advertisement

From January to August 2026, a total of 7,546,397 passenger cars were newly registered in the European Union. This represents a 5.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the European automakers’ association ACEA. The association attributes this to rising energy prices and a persistently unstable geopolitical situation. Demand for electrified powertrains remained high, which ACEA attributes to incentive programs in several countries and a wider range of models available.

Notably, the ratio between two types of vehicles is striking: battery electric cars and gasoline cars each account for 21.7 percent of the market share after eight months. In absolute terms, however, electric cars lead slightly with 1,641,333 units, ahead of pure gasoline cars at 1,634,733 units.

Electric Cars: 44.9 Percent Growth

The number of newly registered electric cars increased by 44.9 percent in the first eight months. A year earlier, the share of BEVs in the EU was still 15.8 percent. The four largest markets for electric cars—Germany, France, Belgium, and Denmark—together account for 64 percent of all new BEV registrations in the EU.

Germany remains by far the largest single market with 515,545 electric vehicles, representing a 53.1 percent increase. France saw growth of 74.2 percent to 322,099 units, while Denmark increased by 40.9 percent to 106,265 units. Belgium recorded 108,879 new registrations, with growth at a lower 13.1 percent. In Austria, 53,449 electric vehicles were registered (+31.1 percent), and in Switzerland, 37,631 (+23.2 percent).

Outside the EU, the picture is mixed: Norway remains stable at a very high level of 94,315 units (+0.6 percent), while the United Kingdom has 355,748 electric vehicles (+28.6 percent). For the entire EU, EFTA, and UK combined, ACEA reports 2,133,364 new electric vehicles, 38.8 percent more than the previous year.

Advertisement

The month of August

In August alone, 708,211 new passenger cars were registered in the EU (+4.5 percent). Of these, 196,486 were electric vehicles, representing a 62.7 percent increase compared to August 2025. In Germany, new BEV registrations rose by 75.1 percent to 68,930 units in August, while in France they doubled to 36,159 units.

Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids

The most popular powertrain type in the EU remains the hybrid, which ACEA includes both full and mild hybrids. By the end of August, 2,759,718 such vehicles were registered, 11.1 percent more than the previous year. This accounts for a market share of 36.6 percent. Growth was particularly strong in Spain (+21 percent) and Italy (+20.5 percent), while Germany (+5.2 percent) and France (+1.8 percent) saw moderate increases.

Plug-in hybrids saw 758,082 new registrations, a 19.6 percent increase. Their market share rose from 8.8 to 10 percent. Growth was driven by Italy (+77.6 percent), Spain (+33.9 percent), and Germany (+15.6 percent). In some countries, however, the trend was downward, such as in Belgium (-37.1 percent), Finland (-40.2 percent), and Denmark (-78.1 percent).

Gasoline and diesel engines suffer significant losses

Conventional internal combustion engines continue to experience sharp declines. New registrations of gasoline engines dropped by 18.6 percent, with their market share falling from 28 to 21.7 percent. The steepest decline was seen in France, at minus 35.8 percent. Germany (-21.9 percent), Spain (-18.5 percent), and Italy (-16.7 percent) also reported double-digit losses.

The situation is similar for diesel vehicles: with 550,692 units registered, new sales also dropped by 18.6 percent. Its market share fell from 9.4 percent to 7.3 percent. Combined, gasoline and diesel vehicles now account for only 29 percent of the EU market, down from 37.5 percent in the previous period.

Manufacturers: Chinese brands growing strongly

In terms of manufacturers, the Volkswagen Group leads with 1,998,648 new vehicles registered in the EU and a market share of 26.5 percent, showing growth of 1.3 percent. Following behind are Stellantis with 1,202,515 units (+5.2 percent) and the Renault Group with 781,285 units (-4.0 percent). Mercedes-Benz saw an increase of 3.5 percent to 373,055 vehicles.