ACEA: EU battery-electric vehicle market share continues to grow
In January, 154,230 new battery-electric cars were registered in the EU, marking a 24.3% increase compared to the same month last year. This growth also raised their market share to 19.3% of all new car registrations, according to the European industry association ACEA. For comparison, battery-electric cars accounted for just 14.9% of new registrations in January 2025, meaning their market share has increased by 4.4 percentage points.
What is happening
The rise in the market share of electric vehicles is not solely due to growth in absolute numbers, from around 124,200 to over 154,000 units, but also reflects the overall market's performance. Compared to the previous year, the total market declined by 3.9%, with 799,625 new cars registered across the EU, down from nearly 832,000 in January 2025. The trend observed in previous months persists across other powertrain types: plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also saw an increase, with a 28.7% rise in January 2026—slightly stronger than that of battery-electric cars. However, in absolute terms, the PHEV segment remains smaller, with 78,741 units registered.
Why this matters for transport
By far the largest powertrain category is hybrids (HEVs), which grew by 6.2% to 308,364 vehicles. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, on the other hand, suffered double-digit declines: petrol cars fell by 28.2% to 175,989 units, while diesel cars dropped by 22.3% to 64,550 units, according to ACEA’s figures. With a 38.6% market share, HEVs continue to gain prominence, while pure petrol cars, at 22%, now only narrowly lead battery-electric vehicles. However, a familiar caveat applies: ACEA does not further break down HEVs by their degree of electrification.
What to watch next
This category includes full hybrids, mild hybrids, and 48-volt hybrids. As a result, it also encompasses vehicles that, for example, use a small electric motor solely for start-stop assistance or turbocharging but cannot drive even a single metre on electric power alone. For customers, these vehicles feel like conventional ICE cars, even though they are officially classified as hybrids.