Gasoline-only cars fall below half of global sales

Cars that run only on gasoline made up less than half of new cars sold worldwide in the first half of 2026. It is the first time this has happened since cars became common in the 1920s, Japan's Nikkei business daily reported on Oct. 2, citing data from the industry analysis firm Mobility Global. Higher oil prices tied to instability in the Middle East pushed buyers away from gasoline models and toward electric vehicles.news.sbs+2

Gasoline-only car sales fell 10% from a year earlier to 20.25 million units between January and June. That figure leaves out hybrids and some large vehicles. Their share of new car sales fell 3 percentage points to 49%, according to translated Nikkei figures carried by South Korean outlets SBS and Seoul Economic Daily. In 2021, gasoline cars held 73% of the market.sedaily+2

Oil prices drive the shift

Nikkei linked the decline to higher fuel costs and less reliable supply caused by tension in the region, which it described as a crisis in the Persian Gulf. Gasoline car sales fell 26% in China and 13% in Europe.news+2

Global electric vehicle sales rose 12% to 6.87 million units, lifting their share of new car sales 3 points to 17%. Hybrids also held a strong position in the market, Nikkei noted.news.sbs+2

"While hybrid electric vehicles grew around 2024 due to the suspension of EV subsidies, the low maintenance costs of EVs are being re-evaluated amid high oil prices," said Yoshiaki Kawano, an analyst at Mobility Global.news.sbs

Uneven regional picture

The growth was concentrated in a few regions. China makes up about half of global EV sales, but its EV sales fell 3% to 3.44 million units after the country scaled back EV tax breaks starting in January. North American EV sales dropped 15% after President Donald Trump revoked federal incentives.news.sbs

European EV sales jumped 32% to 1.81 million units. In the first half, EVs outsold gasoline cars across 31 major European countries for the first time, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. EV sales rose 81% to 350,000 units in Southeast Asia and climbed 2.2-fold to 110,000 units in Oceania.sedaily+1

In South Korea, EV sales rose 90.2% to 268,092 units from January through August, giving EVs 24.4% of the new-car market, according to government figures cited by Seoul Economic Daily. Cheaper batteries are helping. BloombergNEF says battery pack prices averaged \$99 per kilowatt-hour last year.sedaily

Kawano expects the trend to continue. "There are few cases of EV buyers returning to gasoline cars or hybrids, so if price declines continue, genuine demand for EVs that does not rely on subsidies will also increase," he said.news.sbs