The data published by Acea relating to registrations for February 2026 show positive numbers when compared to those recorded in the same month of 2025. Hybrid and electric cars remain the preferred choice by consumers, while the combined European market share of petrol and diesel cars fell by 8% compared to February 2025. But we are still far from pre-Covid levels
Contrasting numbers emerge in the first months of 2026 regarding the European automotive market: in February, in fact, car registrations in Europe (a figure that takes into account the regions of the European Union, EFTA and the United Kingdom) were 979,321the1.4% more than the same month in 2025, alleviating the difficult start to the year recorded in January. Considering the first two months of 2026, however, the total is 1,940,321 with a decrease on the same period last year1.2%. The comparison with the period before the pandemic, i.e. with 2019, is negative for everyone with a drop in 30.4% for France, del 24.2% for Germany, del 13% for Italy, del 12.4% for Spain and the 3.6% for the UK. In the first two months of 2026, electric cars represent the 18.8% of the European Union market share, up from 15.2% the previous year. Hybrid cars have confirmed themselves as the favorite choice of European consumers, with registrations reaching the 38.7% of the market. Over the same time frame, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars has fallen to 30.6%compared to 38.7% recorded in the same period of 2025.
Market share by power supply
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From January to February 2026, 312,369 new ones were registered electric carsequal, as mentioned, to 18.8% of the European Union market share. The four largest European markets, which together represent the 61% of electric car registrations, have recorded mixed results: France (+38.5%) e Germany (+26.3%) recorded strong growth, while Belgium (-11%) e Netherlands (-34.9%) suffered substantial declines. The data relating to the first two months of 2026 show an increase in registrations of hybrid cars in the EU, equal to 643,898 units, driven by growth in Italy (+29.5%) e Spain (+13.4%), while the Germany remained substantially stable (+1.1%). To complete the picture of the four main markets, the France recorded a decline of 3.9% compared to the first two months of 2025. Registrations of car plug-in hybrids continue to record strong growth, reaching quota 162,751 units in the first two months of 2026, and representing the 9.8% of European registrations compared to 7.4% in the same period last year. This increase was driven by increased volumes in key markets such as Italy (+116.1%), Spain (+71.5%) e Germany (+23.8%). In February 2026, from the beginning of the year, the registrations of petrol cars have decreased by 23.3%with declines recorded in all major markets. There France suffered the most marked decline, with a 48.5% drop in registrations, followed by Germany (-22.8%), Spain (-20.8%) e Italy (-18.6%). With 374,774 new cars registered in the last two months, the market share of petrol cars has fallen to 22.5% from 29% recorded in the same period last year. The market of diesel car continued its downward trend, with a decline in registrations 17.7% and a share of8.1% of new registrations from January to February.
The houses
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Looking at the results of the automotive groups in the European Union, the Volkswagen Group closes February 2026 with growth of 2.6%. It does better Stellantis with a +9.8%. Third place for Renault Group which however recorded a drop of 15.5% compared to the registrations recorded in February 2025. Scrolling through the results of the month, one cannot help but notice how Byd is continuing to run, achieving growth of as much as 185.3% in the European market last month. At an extended European level (EU + EFTA + United Kingdom), the Volkswagen Group confirms itself as the leading manufacturer with 256,452 units in February (+2.2%), driven by the excellent performance of Skoda (+18.7%), which offset the decline of the Volkswagen brand (-4.2%). Stellantis did well, registering 170,816 cars, recording a +9.5%, and in particular Fiat (+49.4%) e Opel (+30.5%), while Peugeot (-10.1%) and Alfa Romeo (-17.4%) were negative. The highest growth is that of Bydwhich recorded registrations growing by 162.3% in February. Positive February also for Tesla (+11.8%) e Saic (+12%).
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