Electric vans and trucks see growth in September 2026
In France, after the dip during the summer holidays, registration figures for vehicles of all energy types resumed rising in September 2026 at a more typical pace. The same trend is seen with electric commercial vehicles and heavy trucks (trucks, coaches, and buses), for which government mandates and incentives are also in effect. However, these vehicle categories do not see a doubling of new registrations, as was the case with electric passenger cars, which saw a 107.5% increase compared to September 2025.
Light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes
The strongest growth compared to the same month last year is not seen in the segment of light commercial vehicles. For commercial vehicles with a total rolling weight (PTR) of up to 3.5 tons, 26,916 units across all energy types were registered in September 2026, a decrease of 10.1% compared to the same period last year. The decline was smaller, at -5.5%, for the annual total, which now stands at 249,653 vehicles.
With a market share of 14.3%, these electric commercial vehicles saw a 7.9% increase in September 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, with 3,879 units registered. On an annual basis, the figure reached 31,552 units, representing a +33% increase and a market share of 12.6%. However, the percentage growth was higher for non-rechargeable hybrids: +38.9% compared to September 2025, with 2,067 units registered.
Still on a monthly basis, there were declines for all other energy types, starting with diesel (19,064 units, -15.0%) and gasoline (1,530 units, -17.9%). The same was true for alternative options such as rechargeable hybrids (338 units, -31.9%), LPG (37 units, -43.9%), and the extremely rare CNG for these vehicles (just 1 unit, compared to 2 in September 2025).
Other Commercial Vehicles
For commercial vehicles with a PTR between 3.5 and 5.1 tons, across all energy types, 203 vehicles were newly registered in September 2026 (+23% compared to the same month in 2025), bringing the total to 2,035 since the beginning of the year (+27.8%). Last month, the figures were based on only three types of engines.
If diesel remains ahead on an annual basis with 1,019 units (+15.3%), this fuel type had to cede its first place to electric vehicles last month, with 93 units registered (+19.2% compared to September 2025), while plug-in models saw 108 units registered (+80%). From January to September 2026, 970 electric vehicles were newly registered in France, representing a 96.8% increase. This results in electric vehicles holding a 53.2% market share in September and 47.7% on an annual basis, compared to 45.8% and 50.1% for diesel respectively.
In September 2026, 2 utility vehicles with a PTR of 3.5 and 5.1 tons running on GNV were also registered, representing a 92% decline. This drop aligns with the 44 new vehicles registered between January and September 2026, a decrease of 79%. There were no hybrid or gasoline-powered models among the figures for last September. This is not entirely surprising, as annually, only one vehicle of each type was sold for these fuel types.
Trucks
Across all fuel types, 30,785 trucks were newly registered from January to September 2026, a 3.3% decline, with 3,789 registered last month, representing a 0.1% decrease. Diesel still had very high PDM rates: 91.8% and 91.6%, with 28,256 and 3,471 units registered respectively, showing only a 0.2% decline in both periods.
Even though it is declining, B100 remains the leading—but still very limited—alternative fuel to diesel for heavy trucks, with 130 units in September 2026 and 1,183 units cumulatively. This corresponds to market shares of 3.4% and 3.8%, respectively, although there were declines of 24% in September 2026 and 35.1% cumulatively.
This contrasts sharply with the much more positive developments in electric trucks. Last month, we were very close to a shift toward electric trucks, with 124 units, representing a 90.8% increase and a market share of 3.3%. Compared to cumulative figures, there are 797 electric trucks, up by 35.1% with a market share of 2.6%.
Due to the policies pursued by Europe, CNG vehicles are showing a decline, with 59 new registrations last month (-18.1%, year-to-date decrease of 1.6%), and 408 since January (-57.2%, year-to-date decrease of 1.3%). Interestingly, for September 2026, there are expected to be 3 rechargeable hybrid models, one running on ethanol, and another on gasoline.
Coaches or Buses
In the case of coaches and buses, thanks to ongoing fleet conversions, a wider range of powertrains are now available. If these two types of passenger transport vehicles were compared separately, urban models would be observed to have taken the lead.
By ignoring this factor, diesel still appears at the top, but its market share is continuously shrinking. Overall, it accounts for 62.7% with 3,225 units sold (+9.5% compared to the first nine months of 2025), but last September it was only 41.4%, showing a dramatic decline of 33.4%.
GNV remains the top alternative fuel here, with 915 units sold in total (+17.5%, a year-to-date growth rate of 17.8%), and 135 units in September 2026 (+84.9%, a year-to-date growth rate of 25.8%). However, electric vehicles are gaining momentum. On an annual basis, the figures aren’t particularly impressive: 637 units sold (+27.1%, a year-to-date growth rate of 12.4%). But last month was very different, with 107 units sold, representing a 118.4% increase and a year-to-date growth rate of 20.4%.
The non-rechargeable hybrid and hydrogen are progressing more slowly, with increases of +78.6% last September (50 units, 9.5% market share) and +2.9% respectively (15 units, 2.9% market share). Next month should confirm most of these trends.
