The market of new cars in the European Union in the first half of this year recorded a total increase in registrations of 5.7 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The positive trend is the result of continuous and strong customer demand for a wide range of electrified technologies, which is largely stimulated by market support measures, the European association of car manufacturers ACEA points out in its new report.
Although hybrid-electric vehicles are still the first choice of European buyers with a market share of 37.3%, fully electric vehicles with battery drive also achieved a noticeable jump. Their share in the total EU market reached 20.7%, which represents a significant increase compared to 15.6% recorded in the same period last year.
Decline of gasoline and diesel
In the first six months of 2026, a total of 1,220,890 new battery electric cars were registered in the European Union. Three of the four largest EU markets, which together account for 63% of all registrations of this type of vehicle, recorded strong growth: France with an increase of 62.9%, Germany with 48% and Denmark with 41.2%.
Delivered hybrid models also recorded significant volumes – 2,198,148 hybrid-electric cars were registered, driven by growth in Italy of 23% and Spain of 20.8%, with growth in Germany and France. At the same time, plug-in hybrids reached 577,735 units and a 9.8 percent market share (compared to 8.5 percent in 2025).
Against the growth of electrified vehicles, gasoline- and diesel-powered cars are declining in all key markets. By the end of June 2026, registrations of gasoline vehicles fell by 17.2% with a total of 1,309,153 newly registered vehicles, with the most pronounced decline recorded in France. Likewise, the diesel car market continued its downward trend with a 16.5% drop in registrations, bringing its market share down to 7.5% compared to last year’s 9.4%. The combined market share of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles dropped to 29.7%, which is a significant decrease compared to the 37.8% recorded in the same period of the previous year.
A view of the yard
In Croatia, according to the data published by ACEA, the market in the first six months of the year was roughly divided into thirds: 39.6% accounted for hybrids, 37.2% for gasoline engines, while the rest consisted of all other types of drives. Diesels are holding on to 12.2%, and all-electric models are on 4% of the market share.
