Europe Gas Car Sales Plunged While BYD EVs Jumped 165% in January
By Reuters | 24 Feb, 2026

Pushing back emission standards had no impact on sales of gasoline-engine cars which now account for only one-fifth of the European market.

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% 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 U.S. 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% to 961,382 cars in January, ACEA's data showed.

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

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%, 32% and 6%, and collectively accounted for 69% of new registrations, up from 59% in January 2025. 

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

Stellantis and Mercedes recorded gains of 6.7% and 2.8%, respectively. 

U.S. automaker Tesla continued its downward trend with a 17% year-on-year decline, the thirteenth month in a row in which sales have shrunk, according to ACEA's data.

(Reporting by Javi West LarrañagaEditing by Tomasz Janowski)