Gas-Only Cars Slip Below Half of Global Sales for the First Time in a Century

For the first time in roughly a hundred years, conventional gasoline-powered cars no longer account for the majority of new vehicles sold worldwide. According to data from Mobility Global, as reported by Nikkei Asia, pure combustion models made up just 49% of global new-car sales in the first half of the year — a striking fall from the 73% share they commanded as recently as 2021.

The shift has been driven largely by economics rather than regulation. Higher oil prices, partly linked to instability in the Middle East, have made the running costs of gas cars harder to swallow, and buyers have responded by gravitating toward electric and hybrid options. Fuel expenses and ongoing maintenance bills appear to be pushing many consumers to reconsider what powers their next vehicle.

Automakers moved 20.25 million purely gas-fueled units globally in the period, a 10% decline year over year. That demand didn’t simply disappear — it migrated. Hybrids rose 10% to reach 7.27 million units, while battery-electric sales climbed 12% to 6.87 million. Mobility Global pegs EVs at around 17% of all new-vehicle sales, still well behind gas cars but gaining steadily.

The regional picture is far from uniform. China remains the world’s largest EV market, absorbing roughly half of all global electric sales, though its total slipped 3% to 3.44 million units after incentives were withdrawn in January. North America moved in the opposite direction, with EV sales down 15%. Europe, by contrast, posted 1.81 million EV sales — a 32% jump — while Southeast Asia surged 81% to 350,000 units and Oceania more than doubled to 110,000. Analysts credit more affordable offerings, such as the Renault 5 E-Tech, for energizing European demand.

Yoshiaki Kawano, an associate director at Mobility Global, noted that while EV adoption slowed around 2024 and hybrids gained ground amid subsidy cuts, renewed attention to electric cars’ lower operating costs has revived momentum. Looking ahead, analysts expect EVs to surpass 30% of total vehicle production by 2030, overtaking both hybrids and pure combustion models. Kawano also pointed to a behavioral pattern that favors continued growth: few EV owners go back to gasoline, suggesting that as purchase prices keep falling, demand will increasingly be anchored in genuine consumer preference rather than incentives.