The share of gasoline-powered internal combustion cars in global vehicle sales has fallen below half for the first time. The estimate was reported by Japan’s Nikkei business daily after reviewing worldwide market statistics.
According to Nikkei, 20.25 million gasoline cars were sold globally in the first half of 2026. That was 10% lower than in the same period a year earlier, while their share of total sales dropped by 4 percentage points to 49%.
For comparison, the same figure stood at 73% in 2021, Nikkei said, highlighting how quickly the structure of the auto market is changing.
The publication linked the shift to two main factors: a sharp rise in gasoline prices amid the crisis in the Persian Gulf region and rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles, including in China.
In the first six months of 2026, about 6.9 million electric vehicles were sold worldwide, up 12% from the same period in 2025. Hybrid cars, meanwhile, continue to hold strong positions in the global market, while China is moving away from gasoline-only models the fastest and now accounts for 50% of global EV sales.
