27 July 2026 – The European new car market delivered its strongest month of 2026 in June, with registrations reaching 1.40 million units, up 13.0% year on year, the latest data from JATO Dynamics reveals. The majority of growth came from electrified powertrains, with BEVs now accelerating ahead.
BEV registrations climbed to 359.3K units, up 50.7% year on year, lifting battery electric share to 25.7% of the total market, a new high for 2026. The milestone means BEVs have now firmly overtaken MHEVs in monthly volume and are closing in on combustion vehicles, which held 27.0% share in June. On current trajectory, the gap between the two is narrowing fast.
PHEVs and HEVs added further momentum, up 24.2% and 24.1% year on year respectively, to 146.9K and 185.6K units. Both remain important where charging infrastructure, tax rules or customer preference still favour partial electrification. MHEVs grew too, up 12.2% to 311.5K units, but their pace now lags well behind every other electrified powertrain, suggesting mild hybrids are increasingly playing a defensive role rather than acting as the primary bridge to full electrification. Combustion vehicles continued to decline, falling 13.6% year on year to 378.5K units.
Tesla returned to its dominant position on the back of the Model Y and Model 3, but significant volume also came from Renault, BMW, Skoda, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Volvo, and BYD. The base of manufacturers driving EV growth is now wider and more mainstream than at any previous point in the transition.
A multi-speed transition across Europe’s biggest markets
Germany remained Europe’s largest market at around 301K registrations, up 14% year on year, driven by strong demand across BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs as combustion volumes kept falling. The UK held on to second place with roughly 191K units, up 7%, and continued to stand out for its high level of electrification, with BEVs the main growth driver and PHEVs providing further support. France, up 6% to 169K units, took a more balanced route, with BEVs, HEVs, and MHEVs all contributing to growth as combustion demand weakened.
Italy (149K units, up 6%) and Spain (142K units, up 15%) remain more reliant on hybrids, with MHEVs and HEVs still the dominant technologies in both markets, though BEVs and PHEVs are steadily gaining ground, especially in Spain where electrified growth accelerated further in June. Belgium and the Netherlands continued to be among Europe’s most electrified markets, while Poland, still more combustion-oriented, continued to post strong growth in HEVs, MHEVs, and PHEVs from a lower starting base. Austria and Switzerland rounded out the top 10 with solid growth and increasingly diverse powertrain mixes.
Northern and Western Europe continue to lead BEV adoption, while Southern and Eastern markets lean more heavily on MHEVs and HEVs as transitional technologies.
Tesla back on top as the competitive field widens
Volkswagen stayed Europe’s biggest-selling brand with 132.8K registrations, up 1.4%. Skoda continued its strong run, up 9.5% to 84.8K units, and BMW grew 9.1% to 81.7K, with Renault broadly flat at 81.3K and Toyota up 10.5% to 80.0K. Among the premium players, Audi was one of the standout performers, up 11.1% to 64.5K units, while Mercedes-Benz held steady at 66.0K, Peugeot recovered 4.8% to 63.7K, and Dacia rose 7.3% to 62.8K, still anchored by Europe’s best-selling model, the Sandero.
The clearest momentum could be seen with BEVs. Tesla led the month with 52.7K registrations, up 51.1%, on the strength of the Model Y and Model 3, re-establishing itself as Europe’s benchmark for EV scale. Among established manufacturers, BMW's iX1 and newly launched iX3 delivered one of the strongest EV performances of the month, Renault benefitted from the Renault 5, Scenic and Renault 4, and Skoda maintained strong momentum through the Elroq and Enyaq.
Kia was one of the standout growth stories of June, building on the EV3, newer EV4 and EV5 additions, while Mercedes-Benz accelerated on the back of its electric CLA launch. Chinese and Chinese-owned brands kept up their rapid expansion as BYD nearly doubled its volume to 38.3K units across BEV and PHEV, MG grew strongly to 38.5K units, and XPeng, Leapmotor, Zeekr and Omoda/Jaecoo all continued to build visibility and share.
Steffen Michulski, Regional Consultant Europe at JATO Dynamics, said: “June 2026 demonstrated how quickly the centre of gravity in the European market is shifting towards electrification. BEVs delivered their strongest volume performance of the year so far, surpassing one quarter of all registrations and clearly becoming the market’s main growth driver.
“At the same time, the transition remains multi-speed. While BEVs are leading in the most mature markets, HEVs and PHEVs continue to play an important role across Southern and Eastern Europe. The common trend, however, is clear, electrified vehicles are gaining share across the region, while conventional combustion powertrains continue to retreat.”
As BEV penetration approaches 26% of the European market, the brands pulling ahead are those combining EV scale, competitive pricing and strong new product launches.
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For full rankings, detailed analysis or media enquiries please contact Laura Cameron, laura.cameron@jato.com
Notes to Editor:
The data analysed refers to Europe-28: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, UK.
About JATO
Founded in 1984, JATO Dynamics is the world's leading provider of automotive market intelligence.
Operating across more than 50 markets worldwide, JATO delivers accurate, impartial data on vehicle specifications, pricing, sales and registrations, enabling automotive businesses to make confident, data-driven decisions.
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