Europe's shift towards electrified cars is gathering pace again, but Cyprus is following its own version of the trend. While battery-electric vehicle sales are rising strongly across the EU, Cypriot drivers are increasingly choosing hybrids as the practical middle ground between conventional petrol cars and fully electric models.
According to Eurostat, 1.89 million new battery-electric passenger cars were registered across the EU in 2025, an increase of 29.7% compared with 2024. The total number of fully electric passenger cars on European roads consequently reached 7.59 million, up 31.5% year on year.
Plug-in hybrids also had a strong year, with new registrations rising 34.2% to 1.03 million vehicles. Conventional hybrids grew by a more moderate 13.4%, but remained the EU's largest category by volume, with 3.62 million new registrations.
At the same time, the traditional combustion-engine market continued to contract. New diesel registrations fell 22% to 1.07 million, while petrol registrations declined 18.4% to 2.98 million.
Cyprus is becoming a hybrid market
The change is particularly clear in Cyprus.
Figures from the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) show that hybrid cars represented 51.7% of passenger saloon registrations between January and June 2026, compared with 43% during the same period last year. In other words, more than half of passenger cars registered in Cyprus during the first six months of 2026 were hybrids.
Over the same period, the share of petrol cars dropped significantly, from 43.6% to 35.2%, while diesel declined from 8.6% to 8.2%. Fully electric vehicles are growing much more slowly. Their share increased only marginally, from 4.8% in the first half of 2025 to 4.9% in 2026.
The numbers suggest that Cyprus is moving towards electrification, but not necessarily by following the same route as the rest of Europe. For many local drivers, a hybrid offers an obvious compromise: lower fuel consumption without having to depend entirely on charging infrastructure.
EV adoption is moving faster across the EU
Across Europe, fully electric cars are gaining ground considerably faster.
The European Commission reported that battery-electric vehicles reached 20.6% of new EU car registrations in April 2026, compared with 15.7% in April 2025. Their average market share during 2025 was 17.4%. Around 750,000 battery-electric cars were sold in the EU between January and April 2026, with the growing availability of more affordable EV models helping to accelerate adoption.
Economics are becoming increasingly important too. According to the International Energy Agency, when oil prices are around $100 per barrel, the fuel-cost savings enjoyed by EV drivers are now 35% greater than they were a year ago.
The European Commission estimates that wider EV adoption has already reduced EU oil demand by approximately 140,000 barrels per day, cutting annual fossil-fuel imports by around €4.5 billion.
Cyprus car registrations continue to grow
Electrification isn't the only trend visible in the latest Cyprus car market data. Overall motor vehicle registrations increased 13.2% during the first half of 2026, reaching 29,367 vehicles, compared with 25,954 during the same period in 2025.
Passenger saloon registrations reached 22,597, up from 20,004 a year earlier — an increase of approximately 13%. June followed the same pattern, with 5,624 motor vehicles registered, 13.8% more than in June 2025. But perhaps one of the most revealing figures for the Cyprus car market has nothing to do with powertrains.
Used imports still dominate the Cyprus car market
Despite the growth in registrations, Cyprus remains heavily dependent on imported used cars. According to Cystat, 67.9% of passenger saloon cars registered during the first half of 2026 were used imports, while new vehicles represented only 32.1%.
That means roughly two out of every three passenger cars entering the market were imported second-hand vehicles — highlighting just how important the international used-car market remains for buyers in Cyprus.
Rental passenger-car registrations moved in the opposite direction, declining 11.8% from 2,820 to 2,487 vehicles.
What does this mean for Cyprus drivers?
The direction of travel is becoming clear, even if Cyprus and mainland Europe are moving at different speeds.
Across the EU, fully electric vehicles are taking an increasingly significant share of new-car sales. In Cyprus, however, hybrids have emerged as the clear winner for now, combining improved fuel efficiency with the convenience of conventional refuelling.
At the same time, petrol and diesel continue to lose market share, while used imports remain central to the island's automotive market.
For Cyprus buyers, that combination is likely to make premium hybrid models increasingly important on the second-hand market — particularly as more vehicles become available through established right-hand-drive markets such as the UK and Japan.
