EU new-car registrations boosted in first quarter by strong March

28 April 2026

Robust demand pushed the EU new-car market to year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2026. Rising electric vehicle (EV) sales prevailed as a significant catalyst for growth. But is a familiar powertrain still dominating sales? James Roberts, Autovista24 web editor, unpicks the latest data.

In March, 1,158,317 new vehicles were registered across the EU, according to Autovista24 calculations of ACEA data. This equated to a 12.5% year-on-year lift. Overall, in March, 24 of the 27 EU states recorded new-car market growth.

Assessing the first quarter of 2026, this strong March performance helped boost the EU’s overall new-car market. After three months of the year, 2,822,617 new vehicles reached EU customers according to Autovista24 analysis of ACEA data. This ensured a healthy 4% raise, amounting to an additional 107,912 units.

Electric sales increase

Sales of EVs, spanning battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in-hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), continued to increase in the first quarter. The EU’s four biggest markets, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain, all saw double-digit BEV volume increases in the month.

This figure has been helped by domestic tax benefits and incentive schemes. However, some countries have seen consumer sentiment turn towards electrification, particularly as petrol and diesel prices increased.

Hybrid powertrains, including both mild and full-hybrid versions, also made gains. Consistently the preferred choice for EU consumers, the powertrain made it over the one-million-unit mark in the first quarter. Despite this high watermark, a peak to hybrid demand could be in the rear-view mirror.

New petrol vehicles are helping keep the share of internal-combustion engine (ICE) cars above EVs. This gap is narrowing, but is it closing fast enough to satisfy EU goals to phase out new petrol and diesel sales by 2030?

Hybrids hold the cards

The best-selling powertrain choice for new cars across the EU was hybrids. March saw 444,835 models featuring the technology roll off the bloc’s forecourts. This equated to a 20.1% volume increase and a 38.4% slice of the new-car market, up 2.4 percentage points (pp).

Over the first three months of 2026, hybrid volumes increased by 12.8% year on year, with 1,089,421 units accounted for. This underscored a consistently high EU new-car market share of 38.6%, up 3pp.

In the first quarter, hybrid registrations increased in 20 of the 27 EU states. Despite eye-catching EV sales growth, the larger markets saw hybrid volumes stay high. After three months of the year, these volumes outweighed both BEV and PHEV figures.

Hybrid sales in Italy and Spain scored double-digit increases at 25.8% and 18.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, Germany saw an upswing of 7.4%, and France a modest gain of 3.1%.

Other markets scored notable year-on-year hybrid gains in the first quarter. This included Austria with 30.2%, Czechia 14.5%, and Portugal 44.9%

Bulgaria witnessed the highest hybrid percentage gain of 114.2% with 647 units registered. Estonia also saw triple-digit gains amounting to 109.3% and 2,286 units.

EU EV sales on the right track?

Three months into 2026, total EV sales, combining BEV and PHEV volumes, reached 815,281 units in the EU. This marked a 195,466-unit boost, equating to a 31.5% year-on-year increase. This cumulative gain carved out a 28.9% market share, up 6.1pp.

BEVs made up the majority of EV registrations, with 546,937 all-electric cars making their way to EU customers. This 32.5% increase in volumes ensured a 19.4% market share, up 4.2pp.

Germany enjoyed a year-on-year BEV registrations increase of 41.3% in the first three months of 2026. March helped with the country recording its biggest BEV registration increase and market share since August 2023.

Despite ending the first quarter with an overall new-car market drop of 2.1%, France saw a positive BEV result. It was second only to Germany in terms of unit volumes, with 112,083 units delivered. Buoyed by Subsidies, income-based schemes, and company-car tax changes, this trend has helped stabilise the market.

Spain’s new-car market impressed in 2025, but EV incentives are being ironed out for this year. However, between January and March, BEV volumes still increased by 41.6%. This is compared with early 2025, which saw inflated market results spurred by aid packages for flood-hit regions.

PHEVs helping electrify EU markets

Alongside BEV improvements, PHEV registrations continued to grow. In total, 268,344 PHEVs made their way to EU customers between January and March. This marked a 29.7% uptick, securing a 9.5% new-car market share, an increase of 1.9pp year on year.

PHEV demand allowed Italy to return strong EV results in the three-month period. While BEV volumes improved by 65.7%, PHEV sales climbed to 40,052, a 110.1% surge. While petrol and diesel deliveries fell in the country, EVs and hybrids enabled market-wide growth of 9.2%.

Austria witnessed healthy BEV uptake in the first quarter, with a 22.4% volume increase. Coupled with a 45.6% rise in PHEV sales, this pushed the country’s new-car market to a gain of 17%.

Similarly, Poland continued to impress. PHEV power proved irresistible in the EU’s fifth-largest market. In the first three months of the year, the powertrain’s volumes increased by 10.5%, with 11,684 taking to Polish roads. Almost half of these units were registered in March.

Balkan boost

The most eye-catching EV sales bounce occurred in Croatia. The Balkan nation enjoyed a 282.4% increase in all-electric registrations to 780 units. This has seemingly been achieved with the help of an incentive scheme. Additionally, year-on-year PHEV registrations increased by 145.8%, leaping to 1,094 deliveries between January and March this year.

Slovenia also saw a significant turn towards plug-in powertrains. BEV volumes increased 78.2% year on year, with 2,297 sales, while PHEV volumes rose 44.5% to 734 units. The country also saw healthy hybrid increases of 18.5% as well as a marginal petrol registration growth of 1.8%.

As the EU new-car market enters the fourth month of the year, one pattern is emerging. EVs are playing a significant part in bolstering EU members’ new-car market fortunes, large and small.

Adding hybrid volumes to BEV and PHEV sales across the bloc saw a total of 1,904,702 new vehicles sold between January and March. This ensured a dominant market share of 67.5%, a year-on-year gain of 9.1pp.

Petrol remains a choice amid EU electrification

Three months into 2026, the EU recorded 636,502 new petrol car registrations. While this marked an 18.2% year-on-year slide, it equated to a 22.6% market share, the second largest after hybrids. Significantly, petrol sales also exceeded BEV and PHEV figures.

In total, just five EU nations witnessed petrol registration improvements. The highest came in Estonia, with a 106.3% year-on-year climb. Austria saw a 4.3% improvement. This was boosted by a strong March, where 8,181 new petrol variants were registered in the country.

In the larger markets, falling petrol sales proved prevalent in the first quarter. France saw the biggest drop at 40.3%, then Italy at 18.6%, followed by Spain at 18.1%, and Germany at 16.1%.

Combined petrol and diesel units topped out at 855,067 across the EU in the first three months of 2026. This gave new ICE registrations a 30.3% hold over the market, down 7.9pp year-on-year, but still 1.4pp ahead of the EV market share.

While petrol still provides a relatively popular mainstream new-car choice, diesel continues to decline. Between January and March, 218,565 new vehicles made their way to customers, down 15.7%, returning a 7.7% market share, falling 1.8pp year on year. Just four nations recorded growth for the fuel type.