Automotive: In June, electric vehicles surpassed the 30% mark, and Chinese brands are gaining momentum

According to AAA DATA, one out of every three new cars registered in June 2026 is electric, while sales of internal-combustion-engine vehicles are plummeting due to stricter tax policies and Chinese automakers are gaining momentum.
 

The tipping point has been reached. In June 2026, electric cars accounted for 30% of new car registrations in France, up from 17% a year earlier, according to data published by AAA DATA. “ With one in three cars being electric, the market has now crossed the tipping point toward electric vehicles,” summarizes Marie-Laure Nivot, head of automotive market analysis at AAA DATA. The new passenger car market totaled 188,787 registrations for the month, up 11% year-over-year, driven by two additional business days compared to June 2025.
 

The growth of the electric vehicle market is spectacular. New registrations surged 94% year-over-year, reaching 55,851 units. Among private consumers, the market share has even climbed to 35%, while diesel now accounts for just 1%. Since January, 241,560 new electric cars have been sold, accounting for 28% of the market and representing a 63% increase. This shift is also evident in the used-car market, where sales of electric vehicles rose 73% year-over-year, driven largely by sales from businesses to consumers.
 

Tax policies are driving the shift to electric vehicles while penalizing internal combustion engines
This acceleration is supported by a continued incentive framework. The eco-bonus can reach 5,700 euros for the lowest-income households, supplemented by a European battery incentive of 1,000 to 1,400 euros, and a new social leasing program is set to launch on July 16. Pressure from the European emissions standard—which caps the average CO2 emissions of each manufacturer’s sales—is also encouraging automakers to maximize their electric vehicle deliveries. In the sales rankings, the Tesla Model Y leads with 6,635 units, ahead of the Renault 5 and the Renault Scenic.
 

Conversely, sales of internal combustion engine vehicles are plummeting due to stricter tax measures that took effect on January 1, 2026. The CO2 penalty now applies starting at 108 grams per kilometer, down from 113 last year, and the weight-based penalty applies starting at 1,500 kilograms, down from 1,600. As a result, sales of gasoline-powered cars fell by 24% year-over-year, and sales of diesel cars dropped by 49%. Hybrids, meanwhile, accounted for 49% of the market in June, occupying a pivotal position between the declining internal-combustion sector and the rapidly growing electric vehicle sector.
 

Chinese automakers are going on the offensive
The used-car market, meanwhile, is sending a more mixed signal. With 442,413 transactions in June, it is down 1% year-over-year and 4% since January. This slowdown is due less to economic conditions than to a supply shortage stemming from the semiconductor crisis: the cars that are two to five years old being sold today are precisely the few that were purchased new between 2021 and 2023, when factories were operating at reduced capacity. As a result, there is a shortage of recent vehicles on the used-car market, which automatically reduces the number of transactions. Only the used electric vehicle market bucked the trend, rising by 73%, with two-thirds of that growth driven by sales from dealers to private individuals.
 

The market’s transformation is paving the way for Chinese automakers. In June, Chinese brands accounted for about 7% of new vehicle registrations, with nearly 13,691 vehicles. There are now 14 Chinese brands active in the French market since 2024, joined in 2026 by newcomers such as Omoda, Jaecoo, and AION, alongside MG, BYD, Xpeng, and Leapmotor. The pace of new model launches has accelerated: whereas in 2024 and 2025 it took five models from established brands to match one Chinese model, parity has now been reached.
 

Their strategy is based on a broad product lineup and often more aggressive pricing, as well as a shift toward plug-in hybrids, which are still exempt from the European customs surcharges applied to electric vehicles since late 2024. In this segment, BYD’s top three models are already leading the sales charts. Faced with this surge, established automakers are revising their pricing policies, accelerating the rollout of affordable electric models, and forming partnerships—such as the alliance between Stellantis and Leapmotor or Volkswagen’s equity stake in Xpeng.