Global pure gasoline car share of new-car sales falls below 50% for first time
In short
Mobility Global data show pure gasoline cars accounted for 49% of global new-car sales in the first half of 2026, the first time the share has fallen below half and down from 73% in 2021. Gasoline-only sales fell 10% to 20.25 million units, with drops of 26% in China and 13% in Europe, while battery-electric sales rose 12% to 6.87 million. Outlets attribute the shift to higher fuel prices after Middle East conflict.
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Pure gasoline cars accounted for 49% of global new-car sales in the first half of 2026, the first time the share has fallen below half, according to Mobility Global data reported by Nikkei Asia and by Chinese outlets. The share dropped 3 percentage points from a year earlier and is down sharply from 73% in 2021, a fall of 24 percentage points. Sales of pure gasoline models, which exclude hybrids and other electrified vehicles, fell 10% to 20.25 million units. IT Home said the Mobility Global figures exclude some heavy vehicles. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The overall auto market contracted about 5% in the period, and the decline in gasoline-only sales was about twice that of the wider market, CLS and Jiemian reported. By region, gasoline car sales fell 26% in China, the largest drop, and 13% in Europe. IT Home attributed the shift to oil prices that rose sharply after US and Israeli strikes on Iran pushed up gasoline prices and raised fuel-supply concerns. CLS and Jiemian said industry figures attribute the accelerated change to oil prices, without naming them. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Battery-electric vehicles were the main beneficiaries. Global electric sales rose 12% to 6.87 million units and reached 17% of all new-car sales, above the 16% threshold IT Home described as the level usually seen as marking mass adoption. China accounted for half of global electric sales but its domestic sales fell 3% to 3.44 million units after tax incentives were reduced in January, and North American sales fell 15% after the Trump administration removed incentives. Europe's sales rose 32% to 1.81 million units, and the European automakers association said half-year electric sales exceeded gasoline car sales across 31 major European countries for the first time. Southeast Asian sales rose 81% to 350,000 units and Oceania's more than doubled to 110,000 units. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
International Energy Agency data cited by IT Home show Chinese brands such as Geely and BYD account for 60% of global electric and plug-in hybrid sales, and that 55% of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold outside the United States, Europe and China are imported from China. Mobility Global forecasts that electric vehicles will exceed 30% of total vehicle production by 2030, overtaking hybrids and conventional internal-combustion models. Hybrid sales rose 10% to 7.27 million units, or 18% of global new-car sales. [ 1 ]
Mobility Global deputy director Yoshiaki Kawano said adoption slowed around 2024 as subsidies were cut and hybrid sales grew, but that higher oil prices “renewed consumers’ awareness of the lower running cost of electric vehicles”, with electric sales now growing again. He added that few consumers who have bought an electric vehicle switch back to gasoline or hybrid cars, and that a market driven by genuine consumer demand rather than subsidies is likely to keep expanding as vehicle prices fall. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The data mark a threshold long watched by the auto industry: gasoline-only cars have lost their majority of global new-car sales, and electric vehicles have passed the 16% share often cited as the start of mass adoption. The documents also show how dependent that shift is on fuel prices and government incentives, with sales falling in China and North America after support was cut and rising in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Key facts
- Pure gasoline cars made up 49% of global new-car sales in the first half of 2026, the first time below 50%, according to Mobility Global. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- That share was 73% in 2021, a fall of 24 percentage points. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Gasoline-only sales fell 10% to 20.25 million units, against an overall auto market that contracted about 5%. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- China recorded the largest regional drop in gasoline car sales, down 26%, followed by Europe, down 13%. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Electric vehicle sales rose 12% to 6.87 million units, or 17% of all new-car sales, above the 16% level often seen as a mass-adoption threshold. [ 1 ]
- Europe's electric vehicle sales rose 32% to 1.81 million units, and in 31 major European countries half-year electric sales exceeded gasoline car sales for the first time, according to the European automakers association. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Hybrid sales rose 10% to 7.27 million units, 18% of global new-car sales. [ 1 ]
- Mobility Global forecasts that electric vehicles will exceed 30% of total vehicle production by 2030. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Mobility Global data show pure gasoline models at 49% of global new-car sales in the first half of 2026, the first time below half. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The gasoline-only share fell from 73% in 2021. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Gasoline car sales fell 26% in China and 13% in Europe. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Electric vehicle sales rose 32% to 1.81 million units in Europe and 81% to 350,000 units in Southeast Asia, while Oceania's sales more than doubled to 110,000 units. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Outlets attribute the fall in gasoline car demand to higher fuel prices and cost concerns. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the 49% share is the first time below half since automobiles became widespread in the 1920s Only IT Home states the 1920s comparison; the other two documents say only that it is the first time below 50%.
- The precise scope of the Mobility Global figures, which IT Home says exclude some heavy vehicles Only one document describes the statistical scope, and it does not define which vehicles are excluded.
- The magnitude of the oil price increase and its direct causal link to gasoline car demand IT Home cites the Middle East conflict and US and Israeli strikes on Iran, while CLS and Jiemian attribute the market shift to oil prices through unnamed industry figures.
- Electric vehicle sales figures for China and North America The 3% decline in China and 15% decline in North America appear only in one document.