In brief
Registrations reached 1,363,210 units in September 2026, 10.2% above September 2025, and 10,555,351 for the first nine months, up 6.3%, according to ACEA.
Battery electric registrations rose 59.9% to 416,433 units in September and 41.9% to 2,549,810 over nine months.
UNRAE says battery electric cars made up 7.6% of Italian September registrations, third from bottom among 31 markets, against an average of 33.2% excluding Italy.
Stellantis, including Leapmotor, registered 2.014 million cars in the first nine months, up 6.8%, with a 16.9% share. Its September volume in ACEA data was 172,977, up 4.5%.
Market growth in key countries
European car registrations reached 1,363,210 units in September 2026, up 10.2% on September 2025, according to ACEA data. Over the first nine months the total was 10,555,351 vehicles, a rise of 6.3%. Within the European Union alone, September registrations came to 971,048 cars (up 9.3%) and the nine-month figure to 8,517,059 (up 5.7%). UNRAE, which tracks 31 markets, reported the same September total and noted that nine-month volume still sits 12.9% below the January to September 2019 level. All five of the largest markets grew in September: the United Kingdom led at 12%, followed by France at 11.6%, Spain at 10.2%, Italy at 9.8% and Germany at 9%.
- United Kingdom
- 12 %
- France
- 11.6 %
- Spain
- 10.2 %
- Italy
- 9.8 %
- Germany
- 9 %
Data from the article text
Over nine months the order changed. The UK was up 10.2%, Italy 8.6%, Spain 6.7%, Germany 5.3% and France 4.1%. Italy ranked fourth by monthly volume and third for the year to date.
Electric and hybrid demand
Battery electric cars registered 416,433 units in September, up 59.9%, and 2,549,810 over nine months, up 41.9%. Plug-in hybrids rose 24% to 164,470 in the month and 22.4% to 1,128,875 year to date. Full hybrids reached 458,031 units in September, up 5.3%, while diesel fell 28.2% to 56,166 and petrol dropped 20.6% to 239,259. Acea director general Sigrid de Vries welcomed the pace of electric growth but warned about the 2030 target.
“Battery electric car registrations are growing at a sustained pace, which is a positive signal.”
She said the share of electric cars must more than double in under four years for carmakers to meet the 2030 CO2 reduction target, and that keeping the current pace would not be enough. In the EU, battery electric cars made up 22.7% of the market year to date and rank as the second most chosen powertrain, while hybrids accounted for 36.3% of EU sales. The combined share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 28.2% from 36.9% a year earlier.
- Battery electric
- 416433 units
- Plug-in hybrid
- 164470 units
- Hybrid
- 458031 units
- Diesel
- 56166 units
- Petrol
- 239259 units
Data from the article text
Italy's electric gap
Battery electric cars made up 7.6% of Italian September registrations, which places Italy third from bottom among the 31 markets UNRAE analysed, ahead of only Poland and Croatia. The average excluding Italy was 33.2%, and the Italian figure is under a quarter of that. UNRAE's director general, Andrea Cardinali, called the gap the central issue for Italy's path to decarbonisation, whatever the outcome of the EU negotiation on 2035 targets. The association asks the next budget law to change the company-car taxation of zero and low-emission vehicles. Its estimate for the joint proposal from the supply chain is about 400,000 such cars registered in 2027 to 2029, at an estimated cost of 515 million euros.
Cardinali put the problem bluntly.
“The gap in the spread of pure electric cars is now a kind of chasm, which risks undermining European cohesion itself.”
Stellantis and Leapmotor
Stellantis, counting Leapmotor, registered 2.014 million cars across Europe in the first nine months, up 6.8%, lifting its share to 16.9%, a gain of 0.18 percentage points. Without Leapmotor, the group registered 1.927 million vehicles, up 3%, with a 16.1% share. Fiat grew 20% in the period, Citroen 8.6%, Lancia 3.5% and Opel 3%. Emanuele Cappellano, who leads the group's enlarged Europe operations, linked the results to the company's FaSTLAne 2030 plan.
“Our FaSTLAne 2030 strategic plan is entering the executive phase with determination.”
In ACEA's figures for the group alone, Stellantis sold 172,977 cars in September, up 4.5%, but its share slipped to 12.7% from 13.4%. Its year-to-date total was 1,533,540, up 4.7%, with share down from 14.8% to 14.5%. Leapmotor reached 1,000 points of sale across 36 European countries.
Chinese brands and pending export limits
Chinese groups reached 14.6% of the market in September, with 1.1 million vehicles sold since January. Saic Motors and Geely each held between 3% and 4% of the market in September, while volumes for BYD and Chery tripled or quadrupled. Volkswagen lost ground in the month and stayed at 2025 levels for the year to date. The Chinese gains came while limits on exports of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars were still awaiting official introduction.