European car market 2026: sales +7% in April, electric cars grow

The European automotive market the month of April 2026 closes with registrations growing by 5.1%, compared to the same month of 2025. There were 972,314 registrations registered in Europe in April, but also including the United Kingdom and EFTA countries the total rises to 1,152,315 registrations (+7%). After the negative start (-3.9% in January), the virtuous trend of the European market is consolidated, which began in February, continued in March (+11.1%) and April, for a growth that stands at 4.2% in the first four months of 2026. The positive results stand out for electric cars (+33.8%), such as the negative ones for traditional diets (-17.7%) in the January-April period, while any type of hybrid power supply is confirmed to be growing.

power supplies

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The race for electric cars is gaining further momentum, growing by 33.8% between January and April 2026 for 746,899 new registrations. Overall circulation reached 19.7% within the EU market. A leap forward favored by local policies oriented towards sustainability, such as by the increase in petrol and diesel prices which is stimulating more than one reflection for motorists about to choose the type of fuel. The plug-in hybrids remain in their wake, recording an excellent +12.6% in the first 4 months of 2026, equivalent to 1,447,864 units registered. The growth of hybrids without charging cables is more limited but still in double digits (mild and full hybrid +12.6%), while the decline in petrol (-17.7%) and diesel (-7.1%) continues unabated. In the first four months of 2026, the general fee of petrol cars fell to 22.5% compared to 28.5% in January-April 2025.

the groups

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Among manufacturers, the best performance in the first 4 months of 2026 is Stellantis, according to i Acea data growing by 7.8% compared to 2025 thanks to the driving force provided by the Fiat (+32.6%), Opel (+22%) and Citroen (+9.9%) brands. The Volkswagen Group confirms itself as the leading manufacturer in terms of volumes, with 1,013,771 registrations in the European Union equivalent to a growth of 2.9%. The first quarter of 2026 ends with double-digit increases for Tesla (+45.8%), Mazda (+12.8%) e Saic (+10.3%); the increases in new arrivals, however, are triple digits Chery (+338%), Byd (+144%) e Leapmotor (+582%).