For the first time on record, gasoline-only cars made up less than half of global new-vehicle sales in the first half of 2026, according to Mobility Global data reported by Nikkei and covered by Electrek. Gas-only vehicles accounted for 49% of sales, down from 73% in 2021, with sales falling 10% year-on-year to 20.25 million units.
The shift is not purely electric. Hybrids took 18% of the market (7.27 million units), slightly ahead of battery-electric vehicles at 17% (6.87 million units). Diesel, plug-in hybrids and other fuels made up roughly 16%, meaning about 83% of new vehicles sold still had an internal combustion engine.
Regional trends diverged. Battery-electric sales grew strongly in Europe, Southeast Asia and Oceania, but fell in China and North America. In the US, EV sales dropped sharply after the federal tax credit ended, but hybrid sales rose to a record 16.3% share and the combined internal-combustion share still fell, suggesting buyers shifted to electrified vehicles rather than back to gas-only cars.