Yes. Gasoline-only vehicles accounted for 49% of global new-vehicle sales in January–June 2026, according to Mobility Global data analyzed by Nikkei and reported in October 2026. The category excludes hybrids, so the figure does not mean that fewer than half of new vehicles had a combustion engine. The reported sales measure also excludes some large vehicles, and its full vehicle-class and country coverage is not specified in the available reporting.
What the 49% figure measures
The reported share is for gasoline-only vehicles as a category, with hybrids counted separately. It is therefore narrower than “vehicles with combustion engines”: conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids and diesel vehicles are not gasoline-only vehicles, even when they use an engine.
The figures come from Mobility Global data analyzed by Nikkei, as reported by SBS News and Electrek. The primary dataset and its full methodology were not directly reviewed in that coverage. The reports say the measure excludes some large vehicles but do not fully document vehicle classes or country coverage.
How sales shifted among powertrains
Reported H1 2026 unit sales show gasoline-only vehicles declining while hybrids and battery-electric vehicles grew. The figures below are attributed to Mobility Global data in the October 2026 reporting; the reports do not provide a complete share-and-volume breakdown for every remaining powertrain category.
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| Category | H1 2026 global sales | Year-over-year change | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline-only | 20.25 million; 49% share | Down 10% in units; share down 3 percentage points from H1 2025 | Excludes hybrids; reported measure excludes some large vehicles. (SBS News) |
| Conventional hybrids | 7.27 million | Up 10% | Separate category, larger than BEVs in the reported period. (Electrek) |
| Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) | 6.87 million | Up 12% | Separate category from hybrids and gasoline-only vehicles. (Electrek) |
| Diesel, plug-in hybrid and other vehicles | Not stated in the cited reports | Not stated in the cited reports | Grouped here as the remaining categories; the reports do not give a comparable combined figure. |
The comparison illustrates why “gasoline cars lost the majority” needs careful wording. Gasoline-only sales were below half of reported new-vehicle sales, but hybrids alone remained a larger sales category than BEVs. The numbers do not establish that electric vehicles as a whole outsold every vehicle using an engine.
The reported trend and regional differences
Electrek’s account of Mobility Global data puts the gasoline-only share at 73% in 2021, 52% in H1 2025 and 49% in H1 2026. That is a reported decline across those reference points, not a complete annual series. The “first time” characterization comes from the coverage; the available reports do not provide an independently verifiable historical dataset spanning the full history of automobile sales.
A Gulf News report attributes gasoline-only sales declines of 26% in China and 13% in Europe to the same dataset. These regional declines do not show that sales moved identically in every country or region; the cited coverage does not supply a full, consistently defined regional comparison table.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What may be behind the change—and what the data cannot prove
Mobility Global analyst Yoshiaki Kawano offered one possible context: “While hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) grew around 2024 due to the suspension of EV subsidies, the low maintenance costs of EVs are being re-evaluated amid high oil prices.” This is Kawano’s interpretation of market dynamics, not proof that subsidy changes or oil prices caused the H1 2026 sales figures.
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