European car sales fall in January, petrol cars sharply decline

• Reuters

• Published On Feb 24, 2026 at 12:24 PM IST

Petrol car registrations fell sharply by 26%, while electric and hybrid vehicles continued to grow, collectively accounting for 69% of new registrations.

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New car sales in Europe fell year-on-year in January for the first time since June, weighed by declines in major markets including Germany, France, Belgium and Poland, data from the European auto lobby ACEA showed on Tuesday.

The downturn was sharpest in Norway, where ‌new car registrations, ⁠a ⁠proxy for sales, fell about 76 per cent compared to the same month in 2025.

Why it matters

Europe’s car industry is in the midst of a major transformation, with traditional car makers struggling to compete with cheaper Chinese models and with a now-delayed push towards decarbonisation.

They are also navigating an even more uncertain trade environment after ⁠most US ‌tariffs were ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court of the United States on Friday.

By the numbers

Sales in ⁠the European Union, Britain, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland fell 3.5 per cent to 961,382 cars in January, ACEA’s data showed.

Petrol car registrations fell about 26 per cent compared to the previous January, shrinking dramatically in France, by 49 per cent, and in Germany, by 30 per cent.

They went from accounting for almost a third of the market share in Europe to just over a fifth ‌in the period.

In turn, battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid- electric cars were up about 14 per cent, 32 per cent and 6 per cent, and collectively accounted for 69 per cent ⁠of new registrations, up from 59 per cent in January 2025.

Registrations of Volkswagen, BMW, Renault and Toyota fell 3.8 per cent, 5.7 per cent, 15 per cent and 13.4 per cent, respectively, while those of BYD surged 165 per cent.

Stellantis and Mercedes recorded gains of 6.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.

US automaker Tesla continued its downward trend with a 17 per cent year-on-year decline, the thirteenth month in a row in which sales have shrunk, according to ACEA’s data.

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