The European car market made a solid start to 2026, with new registrations across the European Union rising by 4% during the first five months of the year.

The increase came despite continued economic and the landscape is fraught with instability, showing that consumer demand for new vehicles remains relatively resilient.

The most important change, however, is not simply the growth in overall registrations. It is the rapid shift in what buyers are choosing. Electrified cars are taking an increasingly dominant position, while traditional petrol and diesel models continue to lose ground.

Electric Cars Reach 20%

Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 20% of all new cars registered in the EU between January and May 2026. A year earlier, their share stood at 15.3%, highlighting how quickly fully electric models are becoming a mainstream option.

A total of 950,521 battery-electric cars were registered during the first five months of the year.

Growth was particularly strong in several of the EU's largest automotive markets. Italy recorded an increase of 75.7% in battery-electric registrations, while France rose by 55.4% and Germany by 40.9%.

Together, these major markets represented a large proportion of all new electric cars registered across the EU.

Belgium also remained an important electric vehicle market, although its growth was much more modest at 2.8%.

Hybrids Remain Number One

Despite the rapid expansion of fully electric vehicles, hybrid-electric cars remain the most popular powertrain choice among European buyers.

Registrations reached 1,795,071 units in the first five months of 2026, giving hybrids a market share of 37.8%.

Italy helped drive this growth with a 24.5% increase, while Spain recorded a rise of 19.5%. Germany and France also posted positive results, growing by 5.4% and 2.2% respectively.

The figures suggest that many drivers still see hybrids as a practical middle ground. They offer some of the efficiency advantages of electrification while avoiding the need to rely entirely on charging infrastructure.

Plug-In Hybrids Gain Momentum

Plug-in hybrid vehicles also continued to expand their presence.

EU registrations reached 460,217 units between January and May, bringing their market share to 9.7%. In the same period of 2025, plug-in hybrids accounted for 8.3% of new registrations.

Italy again recorded one of the strongest increases, with registrations jumping by 84.9%. Spain followed with growth of 46.5%, while Germany posted a 16.1% increase.

The trend shows that consumers are not moving toward a single type of electrified vehicle. Instead, different technologies are growing side by side as buyers choose according to driving habits, charging access and price.

Petrol Loses Ground Quickly

The biggest decline came from petrol-powered cars.

Registrations fell by 18.2% during the first five months of 2026, with all major EU markets reporting lower volumes.

France recorded the sharpest decrease at 36.8%. Spain followed with a decline of 20.3%, while Germany dropped by 18.5% and Italy by 17.3%.

A total of 1,065,071 petrol cars were registered over the period.

As a result, petrol's market share fell to 22.4%, compared with 28.5% a year earlier.

Diesel continued its long-term decline as well. Registrations fell by 16.6%, leaving diesel with just 7.6% of the EU new-car market, down from 9.5% in the same period of 2025.

The Market Is Changing Fast

Taken together, petrol and diesel cars now account for only 30.1% of new EU registrations, compared with 38% a year earlier.

At the same time, battery-electric, hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid models continue to expand their combined share.

Tax incentives and revised support programmes in several European markets have helped sustain demand, but consumer preferences are also clearly changing.