site.btaNew Car Registrations in EU Down by 3.9% in January, Decrease in Bulgaria around 19.5%

In January 2026, new EU car registrations fell by 3.9% compared to January last year, marking a second consecutive challenging start to the year for the market, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) representing 17 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers, announced on Tuesday.

In Bulgaria, 3,218 new cars were registered in January 2026, which is a decrease of about 19.5% compared to 3,995 cars in January 2025. The share of petrol cars sold in January 2026 was 73.9%, diesel cars - 12.5%, hybrid electric cars - 6.3%, battery-electric cars accounted for 5.7%, and plug-in-hybrid electric cars accounted for 1.4%.

In January 2026, 154,230 new battery-electric cars were registered, which is 19.3% of the EU market share. The four largest markets in the EU, which together account for 60% of battery-electric car registrations, delivered mixed results: France (52.1%) and Germany (23.8%) recorded strong growth, while Belgium (11.5%) and the Netherlands (35.4%) experienced declines.

New EU hybrid-electric car registrations rose to 308,364 units, supported by growth in Italy (24.9%) and Spain (9%), while France remained stable, according to the January 2026 figures. Completing the four major markets, Germany recorded a decline of 1.8% compared with January 2025. Overall, hybrid-electric models accounted for 38.6% of the total EU market.

Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars continue to show strong growth, reaching 78,741 units in the first month of 2026. This was driven by rising volumes in key markets such as Italy (134.2%), Spain (66.7%), and Germany (23%). As a result, new plug-in-hybrid electric cars now represent 9.8% of EU registrations, up from 7.4% in January last year.

In January 2026, petrol car registrations dropped by 28.2%, with all major markets experiencing decreases. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 48.9%, followed by Germany (29.9%), Italy (25.5%), and Spain (22.5%).

With 175,989 new cars registered last month, the market share for petrol fell to 22% from 29.5% in the same month last year. The diesel car market continued its downward trend, with registrations declining by 22.3% and accounting for 8.1% of new car registrations last January.