Yes—gasoline-only cars reportedly made up 49% of global new-car sales in January–June 2026, the first time their share fell below half, according to an analysis by Nikkei of Mobility Global data reported by SBS. The estimate covers a specific powertrain category, not every vehicle with a combustion engine, and it does not show that electric cars became the majority.
What the 49% figure measures
SBS reported on October 2, 2026, that Nikkei’s analysis of Mobility Global data put gasoline-only cars at 49% of global new-car sales in the first half of 2026, down from 52% in the same period of 2025. The analysis counted 20.25 million gasoline-only cars sold, a 10% year-over-year decline. It excluded some large vehicles. The underlying Mobility Global dataset and full methodology were not directly available, so these figures should be read as an attributed industry estimate rather than a directly verified global tally. SBS’s report
“Gasoline-only” is important: it does not mean all cars with internal-combustion engines. Hybrids are a separate category, and the International Energy Agency’s powertrain chart groups conventional internal-combustion and mild-hybrid vehicles together as ICEV. That broader IEA category cannot be compared directly with the narrower 49% figure.
How gasoline-only and electric-car shares compare
The IEA separately put electric cars at 24% of global car sales in the first half of 2026. That is a different category and source from the gasoline-only estimate; the figures do not account for every powertrain in the market. In particular, 49% gasoline-only does not imply that electric cars took the remaining 51%. IEA first-half 2026 review
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For context, the IEA reported that electric-car sales exceeded 20 million in 2025, growing 20% from 2024 and representing 25% of the overall car market. Its 2026 outlook projected 23 million electric-car sales, close to 30% of global car sales; that was a forecast, not a final annual result. IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 IEA outlook announcement
Did high fuel prices push buyers toward electric cars?
The Nikkei analysis, as relayed by SBS, attributed falling gasoline-car demand to high crude-oil prices, higher pump prices and supply instability. It also said that EVs’ lower running and maintenance costs were drawing renewed attention. These are plausible influences reported alongside the sales figures, but the data described in the report do not establish that fuel prices alone caused the shift.
There is also a timing complication: the IEA cautions that a crisis does not necessarily show up immediately in vehicle sales because orders and deliveries are separated by a lag. Sales in a given half-year therefore cannot be treated as a direct, contemporaneous measure of buyers’ response to fuel prices. SBS’s report IEA first-half 2026 review
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the global trend varied by region
The reported changes differ by market and by dataset. SBS’s account of the Nikkei analysis put gasoline-car sales down 26% in China and 13% in Europe; it reported EV sales up 32% in Europe, 81% in Southeast Asia and 2.2 times year over year in Oceania. Those regional comparisons belong to the analysis’s reported categories, not to the IEA’s separate figures. SBS’s report
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The IEA recorded a different pattern for electric cars. Global EV sales were about 3.9 million in Q1 2026, 8% below Q1 2025, primarily because of lower sales in China and the United States. Europe was up close to 30%, Asia Pacific excluding China was up 80%, and Latin America was up 75%. In Q2, global electric-car sales were 4% higher year over year and 35% above Q1, nearly offsetting the first-quarter decline. The IEA also said total global car sales fell around 5% year over year in the first half. IEA first-half 2026 review
These patterns caution against treating fuel prices as the only explanation for country-level changes. Policy shifts, vehicle affordability and charging access are distinct factors that may shape adoption; the figures cited here do not isolate their individual effects.
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What to take from the headline
- The reported 49% share refers to gasoline-only cars in the first half of 2026, based on Nikkei’s analysis of Mobility Global data as reported by SBS.
- It is not a measure of all combustion-engine cars, and it does not mean electric cars held a majority share.
- High fuel costs and EV operating costs were cited as relevant pressures, but the reported sales figures do not prove fuel prices were the sole cause.
- IEA data show that electric-car sales moved differently across quarters and regions, even as the first-half gasoline-only estimate crossed below 50%.
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