Europe Car Sales Rose 10.2% in September as Electrified Models Offset the Combustion Slump

Strong demand for electrified cars helped Europe’s new-car market grow in September, offsetting another sharp decline in petrol and diesel sales, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association reported on October 22. Registrations — a proxy for sales — rose 10.2% year on year to 1.36 million vehicles across the EU, Britain and the EFTA countries, Reuters reported. In the first nine months of 2026, registrations totaled 10.555 million, up 6.3%.

The powertrain shift is stark: battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and conventional hybrid registrations jumped 59.9%, 24% and 5.3% respectively, together accounting for 76.2% of all new vehicles. Petrol and diesel registrations fell 20.6% and 28.2%. BEVs alone took 30.5% of the market, up 9.5 percentage points from a year ago, while conventional hybrids remained the single most popular powertrain at about a third of sales.

Chinese carmakers are the growth story. Chery nearly tripled and BYD nearly doubled sales, while Geely and SAIC grew more than 33% and 23%; the four brands’ combined market share rose to 14.6% from 9.6% a year earlier. Meanwhile Volkswagen and Renault registrations declined, and the combined share of VW, Renault and Stellantis fell to 43.7% from 48.4%. Stellantis itself gained 4.5% — but the direction of travel is unmistakable.