Chinese automaker BYD more than tripled car sales in the European Union in the first two months of 2026, industry data showed on Tuesday, while battery electric vehicles accounted for 18.8% of the market, despite a slight decline in total registrations.
BYD registered 29,291 vehicles in January-February, which is 179.2% more compared to 10,491 a year earlier, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), making the company the leader in growth amid an overall sluggish market.
Total registrations of new cars in the EU fell by 1.2% year-on-year to 1,664,680 units over a two-month period, ACEA reported.
Battery electric vehicles accounted for 312,369 registrations, which is 22.3% more compared to 255,463 in the same period of 2025, when their share was 15.2%.
Hybrid electric vehicles remained the most registered type of powertrain with 643,898 units, accounting for 38.7% of the market.
Plug-in hybrids reached 162,751 units, or 9.8% of registrations, compared to 7.4% a year earlier, driven by Italy, where volumes more than doubled at 116.1%, followed by Spain at 71.5% and Germany at 23.8%.
The combined share of gasoline and diesel cars dropped to 30.6% from 38.7% a year earlier. Registrations of gasoline cars fell by 23.3% to 374,774 units, while diesel registrations decreased by 17.7%, making up 8.1% of new registrations.
Among the four largest EU markets for battery electric vehicles, which together represent 61% of such registrations, France grew by 38.5%, Germany added 26.3%, while the Netherlands declined by 34.9%, and Belgium decreased by 11%.
France recorded the sharpest decline in gasoline car sales among major markets at 48.5%, followed by Germany at 22.8%, Spain at 20.8%, and Italy at 18.6%.
Among manufacturers, Stellantis showed the strongest growth among major groups, increasing by 9.5% to 304,251 units. Volkswagen Group, the market leader with a share of 27%, decreased by 0.7% to 449,294 units. Renault Group fell by 16.1% to 161,262 units, while Dacia dropped by 30.9%. Tesla grew by 16.7% to 20,941 units. SAIC Motor added 6.6% to 32,214 units.
Jaguar registered zero cars in January-February compared to 446 a year earlier after the British brand transitioned to new models.
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