Fully electric vehicles continue to dominate Europe’s new car sales, accounting for around half of all new passenger car registrations in at least six countries and setting new but less impressive records in a half dozen others.
Norway continues to lead the way in terms of electric vehicle (EV) market share, setting another new monthly record of 98.8 per cent of the 18,733 new passenger cars were registered in September.
And the Norwegian demand for EVs isn’t limited to passenger vehicles, either, with 74.6 per cent of all new vans sold in September having a purely battery electric engine.
Close on Norway’s heels and gaining is Denmark, which finished September with a new record electric share of 88.8 per cent of the 20,026 newly registered passenger vehicles. This helped push the third quarter EV share to 85.4 per cent.
Maybe most impressively, Denmark’s existing fleet of pure petrol vehicles on its roads now only accounts for 49.98 per cent, compared to just over 65 per cent at the end of 2020. And while petrol still remains the most dominant engine and fuel type on the road, EVs are gaining ground and now make up 24.3 per cent of Denmark’s passenger car fleet.
In nearby Finland, the share of EVs registered in September reached 62.1 per cent, bringing the year-to-date share of fully electric passenger vehicles up to 50.4 per cent – the first time EVs have risen above 50 per cent.
Almost within spitting distance of the 50 per cent mark is Sweden, which saw EVs finish September with a market share of 49 per cent – compared to 38 per cent in September 2025. Through the first nine months of the year, EVs now account for a 46 per cent market share.
The Netherlands saw EVs account for a 52.8 per cent market share in September, up from 37.5 per cent in September 2025. Hybrids are similarly performing well in the Netherlands, meaning that the share of cars with a petrol engine without a hybrid powertrain have fallen to only 7.4 per cent across the first nine months of the year.
Another 50 per cent threshold was also passed in Belgium, with fully electric vehicles accounting for 50.9 per cent of new registrations in September.
And in Portugal, sales of fully electric vehicles accounted for 47.7 per cent of new light passenger vehicle sales, bringing the year-to-date share to 29 per cent.
Records were also set elsewhere but fell well short of milestone numbers.
In the United Kingdom, a record number of EVs were registered in September, totalling 99,199, or 36.3 per cent. Year-to-date figures in the UK saw EVs account for 26.2 per cent, which is good progress for the country but still well short of last year’s mandated 28 per cent and this year’s 33 per cent.
EVs accounted for 27.43 per cent of the Irish market, the largest segment by engine type in the country, 42 per cent in France, and 35.7 per cent in Switzerland – the first time EVs have surpassed a third of all new registrations.
Purely electric vehicles were the second most popular purchase option in Spain in September, taking home a market share of 16.4 per cent, though only a 10.3 per cent share of the market through the first nine months of the year. Sales of electrified vehicles – including purely electric and all hybrid models – however, accounted for 30 per cent of all sales in the month.
One of the few countries to really be lagging behind the rest of the continent is Italy, which only saw EVs account for 7.6 per cent of new sales in September and a year-to-date share of 8 per cent – though mild and full hybrids collectively accounted for 50 per cent.
You can find The Driven’s detailed EV sales data for Australia here: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026; by model and by brand.
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