EVwire brief: Gas-powered cars made up less than half of global new-vehicle sales in the first half of 2026. It's likely the first time that has happened since cars went mainstream in the 1920s.
From January to June, sales of gas-engine vehicles fell 10% year-over-year to 20.25 million units, according to Mobility Global, formerly S&P Global Mobility. That cut their global share by 3 percentage points to 49%. The figures exclude hybrids and other electrified models.
The drop has been fast. Gas cars still held 73% of global sales as recently as 2021.
This year's slide came as oil prices surged as the conflict between the United States/Israel and Iran escalated. Higher gasoline prices and fuel supply worries hit demand hard, with gas car sales down 26% in China and 13% in Europe.
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Battery electric vehicles were the biggest winners. Global EV sales rose 12% to 6.87 million units, lifting their share 3 points to 17%. That's past the 16% mark often seen as the tipping point for mass adoption.
Hybrids grew too, with sales up 10% to 7.27 million units for an 18% share.
Mobility Global associate director Yoshiaki Kawano said fuel prices have put EVs' running costs back in the spotlight:
EV adoption slowed (around 2024) and hybrids grew due to subsidy cuts and other factors, but higher oil prices have renewed appreciation for EVs' lower operating costs, and sales are now growing again.
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Context:
The EV growth didn't come from the usual places. China still makes up half of global EV sales, but its EV sales slipped 3% to 3.44 million units after tax incentives were cut back, and North American EV sales fell 15% after the Trump administration rolled back incentives.
Europe picked up the slack, with EV sales up 32% to 1.81 million units, outselling gas cars over a half-year for the first time across 31 major European countries.
That momentum carried into August, when battery electric vehicle sales across Europe jumped 52.2% year-over-year, according to ACEA. In Germany, BEV sales climbed 75% as gasoline hit a record €2.31 per liter (about $10 per gallon), and one in three new cars sold there in August was a BEV, according to the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). EV sales in France more than doubled.
Other regions grew even faster. EV sales in Southeast Asia jumped 81% to 350,000 units, while Oceania more than doubled to 110,000. Chinese automakers like Geely and BYD have been cashing in, accounting for around 60% of global EV and plug-in hybrid sales, according to the International Energy Agency.
Source: Nikkei Asia and OilPrice.com
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