According to the "Progress Report on Electric Vehicles" published by the European Federation of Transport and Environment (T&E), fully electric car sales in the EU increased by 45 percent in the 8 months of the year compared to the same period last year, reaching 1.64 million.
Accordingly, the share of fully electric cars in new vehicle sales increased to 28 percent in August. Electric cars outsold gasoline-only cars in an entire quarter for the first time in the second quarter of 2026.
This chart showed that growth in the European electric vehicle market is no longer limited to certain countries or upper price segments.
While France and Germany accounted for approximately half of electric car sales in the EU in the first half of the year, in August the share of electric vehicles in new car sales reached 38 percent in France and 32 percent in Germany.
On the other hand, sales volume increased by 69 percent in Italy, 151 percent in Slovenia and 103 percent in Bulgaria. The fact that the share of electric vehicles in the total market in these countries is still at single-digit levels shows that the pace of transformation within Europe varies significantly from country to country.
Competition is now reduced to the 20 thousand euro band
Another change in the electric vehicle market is evident in price levels rather than the number of models.
According to the report, approximately 60 new fully electric models are expected to be introduced to the European market in 2026. This number corresponds to approximately 4 times the number of new models, which is approximately 15 per year on average in 2021-2025.
However, the more critical development for the market is that manufacturers are turning to lower price segments.
Sales of electric cars with a starting price of less than 25 thousand euros are expected to increase approximately 7 times the 2024 level this year. It is estimated that sales in this segment will increase by 34 percent in 2027, reaching approximately 10 times the 2024 level.
By the end of this year, it is expected that there will be 16 electric models under 25 thousand euros in Europe, and 4 of them will be priced below 20 thousand euros. It is anticipated that approximately 10 models priced at or below 20 thousand euros will be introduced to the market by 2028.
This trend reveals that competition in the electric vehicle market has begun to take shape not only on range and technology, but also on affordable prices.
Electric vehicles reduce Europe's oil dependence
The impact of the growth in electric cars is not limited to the automotive industry.
According to the report, approximately 8 million electric cars in use in the EU prevented the use of 46 million barrels of oil in 2025. Its value was calculated to be approximately 2.9 billion euros.
It was stated that the cost of using electric cars charged at home was approximately 50 percent lower than gasoline and diesel vehicles as of September 14.
Therefore, electric vehicle transformation is important for Europe not only in reducing carbon emissions but also in limiting dependence on oil price fluctuations and imports.
According to T&E's analysis, if the proposal by Massimiliano Salini, the European People's Party (EPP) rapporteur in the European Parliament, to relax the EU's car emissions standards is implemented, Europe may need to import around 3.5 billion barrels more oil between 2026 and 2050 than in a scenario where strong EU vehicle targets are maintained and more ambitious electrification of company fleets is achieved.
It is predicted that this could lead to additional oil import costs of approximately 288 billion euros by 2050.
2030 targets could determine the direction of the Europe-China race
The report points out that Europe's electric vehicle policy has reached a critical stage in terms of industrial competition.
According to the report, if Salini's proposal is implemented, the share of fully electric vehicles in the EU market could remain at 22 percent in 2030. In the European Commission's proposal, it is predicted that this rate could reach 47 percent.
Policy choices are expected to be reflected in global producer competition.
In the scenario where Salini's suggestion is implemented, it is estimated that global full electric vehicle sales of European-based manufacturers may remain at 5.7 million in 2035, while sales of Chinese manufacturers may reach 11.9 million.
According to the report, it is evaluated that if current emission targets are maintained, European-based automobile manufacturers can close the gap with Chinese manufacturers in the global electric vehicle race.
For this reason, the decisions regarding the 2030-2035 regulations in Europe stand out as one of the topics that will determine not only the pace of the continent's electric vehicle sales, but also the position of the European automotive industry in the global electric vehicle market.
