Chill still lingers in the EU automobile market, but sales of electric vehicles are skyrocketing! BYD Company Limited's sales in the first two months surged by 179%.

In February 2026, the EU passenger car registration volume increased by 1.4% year-on-year to 865,437 vehicles, showing a significant rebound from the 3.9% decline in January, due to further improvement in demand in major markets. Among the EU's major markets, the growth trend was led by the strong performance of the largest market, Germany, which saw a 3.8% year-on-year increase in registration volume; Spain's market grew by 7.5% and Italy by 14%. However, France remained a significant drag, with a 14.7% decline in registration volume. In the first two months of January and February, the overall EU car market still remained weak, with demand not yet fully recovering, but the electric vehicle sector showed strength, demonstrating a "counter-trend accelerated penetration" status. In February, EU passenger car registrations increased by only 1.4% year-on-year, and overall have decreased by 1.2% since the beginning of the year, indicating that the overall car market is not experiencing a strong recovery; however, the registration volume for pure electric vehicles in February increased by over 20%, and the market share from January to February rose from 15.2% to 18.8%. Data for the year-to-date up to February show that EU registration volume has decreased by 1.2%, but the pure electric vehicle (BEV) sector has become a major highlight. In January and February 2026, the market share of pure electric vehicles in the EU reached 18.8%, significantly higher than the previous year's 15.2%. The registration volume for pure electric vehicles in February surged by 20.6% to 158,280 vehicles, with significant increases in Germany by 28.7%, France by 27.8%, Denmark by 26.1%, and Italy by a whopping 81.3%. Year-to-date (up to February), the Chinese car manufacturer BYD Company Limited saw the largest increase in sales across the entire EU, with a staggering 179% increase to 29,291 vehicles; while the American electric vehicle leader Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) saw a 17% increase in sales to 20,941 vehicles. Volvo, Ford, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi, on the other hand, saw declines during the same period.