Reuters reported a sharp decline in car sales in Europe in early 2026

New car sales fell in January 2026 in most European countries. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on February 24.

"Car sales in the European Union, as well as in the UK, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland in January 2026 fell by 3.5% to 961,382 units," the material says.

It is noted that the deterioration of the situation in the European car market is caused by two reasons: firstly, Chinese automakers offer cheaper options than traditional European manufacturers, and also because of the protracted decarbonization program.

At the same time, the sharpest decline was observed in Norway, where in January 2026, new car registrations decreased by about 76% compared to the same month in 2025. In addition, sales fell by 49% and 30% respectively in France and Germany.

Sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in European countries increased by about 14% and 32%, respectively, and collectively accounted for 69% of new registrations, up from 59% in January 2025.

"Buyers are exhausted": car sales in 2025 decreased by 16%

Chinese cars are being replaced by Russian models

In December last year, the analytical agency Autostat reported that by the end of 2025, the Russian car market was in fifth place in the European ranking in terms of sales, losing one position in a year. It was noted that Germany still occupies the first place in terms of sales of new passenger cars in Europe, with 2.86 million cars sold in the country in 2025, which is 1.4% more year-on-year. The UK retained the second position with an indicator of 2.02 million cars sold (+3.5%). France was the third with a score of 1.63 million units (-5%).

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