9:21 am, June 3, 2026
Europe continued to plug into EVs during the first four months of 2026 with chunky rises for pure-electric models as Chinese brands made more ground, latest figures show.
New data from European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show new car registrations rose by 4.2% to 3,794,280 units between January and the end of April.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 19.7% of all new car registrations in the EU between January and April, up from 15.3% a year earlier. Hybrid models remained the most popular choice among buyers, taking a 38.2% market share.
A total of 746,899 battery electric cars were registered across the EU during the period, representing growth of 33.8% year-on-year, said ACEA.
The strongest growth came from Italy, where BEV registrations jumped 73.1%, while France and Germany recorded increases of 48.2% and 41.3% respectively.
Meanwhile, registrations of plug-in hybrids rose 26% to 364,067 units, increasing their market share from 7.9% to 9.6%. Hybrid registrations climbed 12.6% to almost 1.45m units.
In contrast, petrol registrations fell by 17.7% across the EU, while diesel registrations declined by 16.1%. Combined, the two fuel types accounted for just 30.2% of the market, down from 38.1% a year earlier.
Among established manufacturers, Volkswagen Group remained Europe’s largest carmaker, selling 1.2 million vehicles across the EU, EFTA (European Free Trade Association) and UK markets during the period, ahead of Stellantis and Renault Group.
UK outperforms Europe
The UK market continued to outperform much of Europe during the first four months of the year.
ACEA’s figures show UK new car registrations rose 9.0% to 764,101 units between January and April, compared with 700,843 during the same period in 2025. Monthly registrations in April increased by 24.0% to 149,247 units.
BEV registrations rose 22.1% year-to-date to 176,698 units, while plug-in hybrid registrations surged 46.6% to 99,263 units. Hybrid registrations also rose 8.7% to 297,848 units.
Chinese brands continue rapid rise
The ACEA data shows Chinese cars are making as much of an impact on the EU market as they are on the UK.
BYD registrations across the EU, EFTA countries and the UK more than doubled in the first four months of the year, rising 143.9% to 101,221 units.
Chery-owned brands including Omoda and Jaecoo recorded even faster growth, with registrations surging 338.0% to 94,456 units, while Leapmotor saw a 582.2% rise to 32,963 units.
