Automotive News Europe — 2026-09-22
Automotive Industry
European new-car registrations rose 4.6 percent in August to 835,409 vehicles, driven by a 52 percent surge in battery-electric vehicles that helped electrified powertrains claim more than half the market for the first time.
Chinese automakers continued their rapid expansion, with sales jumping 111 percent to reach a record 11.7 percent market share, intensifying competition for established European brands navigating the costly transition to electrification.
BEV sales rose to 245,120, giving the powertrain 29 percent of the market, compared with 20 percent during the same month last year.
Plug-in hybrids also gained momentum, rising 13 percent last month to 94,664, while conventional hybrids increased 8.4 percent to 108,507.
In contrast, gasoline sales fell 14 percent, and diesel registrations dropped 20 percent, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.
The numbers underscore Europe’s accelerating shift away from combustion engines as high fuel prices and tightening emissions regulations push buyers toward electrified vehicles. The transition is creating winners and losers, with Chinese brands and EV specialists gaining ground while traditional European manufacturers face margin pressure from expensive electric model launches.
Chinese brands posted the strongest growth in August, more than doubling sales to 97,639 vehicles, according to Dataforce figures, which cover registrations in the EU, U.K., Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Chery Group was the biggest contributor to the Chinese rise, up by 210 percent to 24,332 sales, adding 16,486 vehicles in August.
BYD also posted strong growth, with registrations jumping 131 percent to 26,103 vehicles.
SAIC, owner of the MG brand, dropped to third place among Chinese competitors in August, with sales up 32 percent to 21,132. MG was Europe’s top-selling Chinese brand from 2011, when it launched sales in the region, until this year.
Among Europe’s largest automakers, the picture was mixed. Volkswagen Group remained the market leader despite a 3.5 percent decline to 210,376 registrations. Volkswagen brand sales fell 3.8 percent, while Audi dropped 11 percent. Skoda was a bright spot, increasing 5.5 percent on strong demand for the Elroq and Enyaq EVs.
Stellantis was essentially flat, slipping 0.7 percent to 110,697 sales. Gains from Fiat, Citroen and Opel could not fully compensate for weaker results from Peugeot, Jeep and Alfa Romeo. Fiat’s Grande Panda emerged as one of the company’s most important growth drivers, while demand for the Jeep Avenger declined 29 percent.
Renault Group fell 4.6 percent, as lower Dacia demand offset gains from Renault’s expanding EV range. Models such as the Renault 5 E-Tech, Renault 4 E-Tech and the newly launched Twingo E-Tech helped the brand achieve a modest increase, but Dacia’s core lineup weakened.
Tesla registrations rose nearly 10 percent, driven by strong sales of the Model Y.
Premium brands showed diverging fortunes. Mercedes-Benz increased 5.4 percent thanks to strong performances from the GLC and CLA, Volvo was up by almost 1 percent, and BMW was down less than 1 percent.
Among Asian manufacturers, Toyota increased sales by 2.6 percent to 60,880 and Mazda delivered one of the strongest performances among established brands, rising 39 percent. Hyundai-Kia declined 8.7 percent as Hyundai sales fell sharply, offsetting growth at Kia.
From January to August, overall sales grew by 5.6 percent to 9,217,977 vehicles. Electric vehicles were the biggest driver, with sales up by 38 percent to 2,135,675, growing market share to 23 percent from 18 percent in the same period a year before.
Plug-in hybrids grew by 22 percent to 966,998 vehicles and full hybrids by 13 percent to 1,268,199.
Non-electrified models, with both gasoline and diesel engines, saw their combined share declining to 50 percent from 58 percent in the same period the year before.