Electric car sales: A spectacular August in Europe, here is the top 10 list of registrations
The European automobile market grew by 5.3% in August 2026, with 832,637 new cars registered in the European Union, EFTA countries, and the United Kingdom. But this modest increase hides a much more dramatic change: electric car sales surged by 52.2% in just one year!
Electric vehicles are growing faster than the market
Month after month, the European automobile market continues to expand. In August, 832,637 new passenger cars were registered in the European Union, EFTA countries, and the United Kingdom, representing a 5.3% increase from August 2025. Since January, the growth rate has reached 5.8%, with nearly 9.2 million registrations.
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But it’s especially in the electric vehicle segment where the figures are striking. With 243,207 new registrations in August, sales rose by 52.2% year-over-year. They now account for 29% of European sales in that category for the month. Since January, 2.13 million fully electric vehicles have been sold, representing a 38.8% increase.
The figures are also positive for plug-in hybrids, with 94,133 units registered in August (+13.5%). Nevertheless, conventional hybrid vehicles (HEV and MHEV combined) still dominate, with 273,266 units delivered that month (+3.4%). There is now only a 30,000-unit gap between them and fully electric vehicles.
Gasoline and diesel continue to lose ground
The situation is radically different for internal combustion engines. Sales of gasoline cars dropped by 23.5%, to 154,345 units, while diesel sales fell by 23.1%, with only 48,586 registrations. In the first eight months of the year, their sales volumes decreased by 17.5% and 19%, respectively.
The gap becomes particularly striking when compared to electric vehicles: in August, nearly five electric cars were sold for every diesel car in the EU + EFTA + UK region.
Top 10 Electric Vehicles Sold in Europe
In terms of models, Automotive News Europe’s data shows the Tesla Model Y leading European sales of all-electric vehicles in August with 10,281 units sold, ahead of the Skoda Elroq (9,289) and the BMW iX1 (6,635). Our Renault 5 E-Tech ranks eighth with 5,533 units sold, surpassing the Mercedes CLA (5,335) and the Mercedes GLC (5,312). Notably, the new BMW iX3 made a strong entry, ranking fourth for the first time.
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Models
August 2026 sales
Growth (%)
1
Tesla Model Y
10,281
+20.1 %
2
Skoda Elroq
9,289
+44.6 %
3
BMW iX1
6,635
+24.2 %
4
BMW iX3
6,444
//
5
Volkswagen ID.4
6,358
+28.4 %
6
Tesla Model 3
6 259
-3,4 %
7
Skoda Enyaq
5 693
+33 %
8
Renault 5 E-Tech
5 533
+34,2 %
9
Mercedes CLA
5 335
+494 %
10
Mercedes GLC
5 312
//
France is at the top of the rankings
France plays a major role in this growth. In August, 36 159 fully electric vehicles were registered in France, compared to 16 992 a year earlier: an increase of 112,8 %. Only Germany performs significantly better with 68 930 units sold. The United Kingdom ranks third with 28 063 electric vehicles sold.
Since the beginning of the year, the trend has been just as clear: 322,099 electric vehicles were registered in France, representing a +74.2% increase. Gasoline sales dropped by 35.8%, while diesel sales fell by 49.2%. Yet the French market grew by only 3% during this period. It is evident that the distribution of vehicle types is changing rapidly.