Gas-powered cars fall below 50% of global new car sales for the first time in history

For the first time ever, pure internal combustion gas cars no longer dominate the market.

In the first half of 2026, pure gasoline vehicles accounted for only 49 percent of global new-car sales.

That’s unprecedented.

We need some context, though.

Why gas cars no longer dominate the market

According to S&P Global Mobility, as reported by Nikkei, more than one in two cars sold in the first six months of 2026 was not powered by internal combustion.

This marks the first time in history that gas cars have represented less than half of the global market, down sharply from 73 percent in 2021.

Gasoline-only vehicle sales dropped 10 percent year-over-year to 20.25 million units, falling from 52 percent of the market in 2025 down to 49 percent in H1 2026.

A spike in oil prices pushed consumers toward lower-running-cost powertrains, and the fact that EVs are getting better is helping.

To be clear, 83 percent of new vehicles sold still feature an internal combustion engine when accounting for hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

But it’s still a history-making moment.

We need some context

The ratio between population and vehicles is not symmetric.

Ethiopia, the first and only country to actually ban the import of new cars that aren’t electric, is a great example.

Around 135-140 million people but… only around one million cars on the road.

Imagine that.

Then you’ve got countries with nearly as many vehicles as people – the US, Italy, France, the UK.

And then we need to talk about the importance of specific markets.

Which is the main factor at play here.

It’s all about China

China is spearheading production and commercialization of electric cars.

Along with Norway, China is probably the most EV-friendly country in the world.

In Norway, nearly all new cars sold are electric.

Given China’s massive population, adoption dynamics are quite different – yet EV adoption is skyrocketing.

It feels like legacy automakers are a bit stuck and uncertain, and this uncertainty paved the way for China.

Chinese automakers are aggressively ‘attacking’ these new markets.

And they aren’t just offering cars for sale but also joint ventures and business opportunities.

In Ethiopia, for example, most EVs sold are Chinese, partly because the Chinese are better at making cheap EVs, but also because they are, in part, assembled locally.

Maybe Ford’s CEO Jim Farley was not wrong when he said that it’s ‘too late‘ for European manufacturers.