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Petrol vehicles now less than half of global market

Headline from Daily Mirror

From 2 outlets’ reports · latest

2 outlets: 2 private. Languages: EN 2

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AI summary

  • About 20.25 million petrol-only vehicles were sold worldwide from January to June 2026.
  • Sales of petrol-only vehicles fell by about 10% year on year.
  • Hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles made up the rest of the market; hybrids still use petrol engines.

Petrol-only vehicles made up less than half of worldwide new vehicle sales for the first time on record in the first half of 2026, according to automotive industry data reported by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. Their share was approximately 49%.

About 20.25 million petrol-only vehicles were sold globally between January and June, a decline of roughly 10% from a year earlier. Their market share fell from 52% in the first half of 2025 and approximately 73% in 2021.

The remaining sales included hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles. The report attributes the broader shift toward these alternatives to consumer demand, improvements in battery technology, wider charging infrastructure and competition among automakers. It also notes that the change does not mean electric vehicles have taken over the market: hybrids, which combine petrol engines with electric motors, form a substantial part of it.

Based on: Newswire, Daily Mirror

Written by AI from these outlets’ reports. Not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original reports are the authority. Report a mistake.

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