Record-high gasoline and diesel prices across Europe are accelerating a shift toward electric vehicles and hybrids while new registrations of conventional cars continue to plummet by double digits in key markets.
Total car sales in Europe, including the UK, Norway, and Switzerland, rose by 10.2% in September from a year earlier, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed on Thursday.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales jumped by 60%, plug-in hybrid sales rose by 24%, and hybrid electric vehicle sales went up 5.3%.
In contrast, the sales of gasoline cars slumped by 20.6% in September compared to the same month last year, while diesel car sales plunged by 28.2%.
Year-to-date through September 2026, double-digit increases in BEV and plug-in hybrid sales continued to drive the rise in overall car sales in Europe, while gasoline and diesel car sales fell by nearly 20% each.
Gasoline sales saw significant downturns across all major European markets. France saw the sharpest decline, with volumes plunging by 36.1%, while other key markets also posted double-digit losses: Germany (-22.7%), Spain (-19%), and Italy (-16.4%), according to ACEA’s data.
The market share of gasoline cars in the European Union slumped to 21.2% for the nine months to September from 27.7% last year. Diesel sales accounted for 7.1% of new EU car registrations, down from 9.3% in 2025.
Among manufacturers, of note was the rise of Chinese brands BYD, Chery, Jaecoo, Jetour, and Omoda. Sales of BYD in the EU more than doubled in September and in January-September from a year earlier, while the Chery Automobile brands Chery, Jaecoo, Jetour, and Omoda tripled sales.
Record-high fuel prices and a record number of newly available affordable models have pushed electric vehicle sales in the European Union to an all-time high this year, Transport & Environment, a European advocacy group for clean transport and energy, said in a report earlier this month.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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