Europe's long-promised wave of cheap electric cars is finally arriving. Brussels-based advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E) published its EV progress report on Monday, finding that sales of battery-electric models priced below €25,000 are set to rise sevenfold in 2026 compared with 2024. The number of models available under that price threshold has doubled, and T&E called 2026 "a pivotal year for EV availability," with overall model choice up 50% in a single year.
According to the report, almost 40 new electric models were launched in the first half of 2026, bringing the number of mass-market battery-electric vehicles on sale in Europe to more than 150. Roughly 60 more models are expected by the end of the year, meaning around 100 new models will arrive in 2026. That pace dwarfs the average of 15 new models per year between 2021 and 2025. T&E credits the EU's car CO2 targets with driving the expansion: during the flat-target years of 2021–2024, manufacturers had little incentive to introduce affordable models, while the 2025–2027 interim targets have become the engine behind the current model blitz.
"The oil crisis has further fuelled the rush by European consumers for affordable small electric cars," said Lucien Mathieu, T&E's cars director. His headline example is Volkswagen's ID. Polo, which sold out quickly with more than 40,000 orders and a 10-month waiting list. "European car makers were complaining about the lack of demand for a long time. Now we can clearly see: the issue was not the demand, but what they had to offer," Mathieu said. "The consumer's appetite for small affordable electric cars proves the car makers' claims wrong."
The demand story is echoed elsewhere in Europe. The Spanish-built Cupra Raval sells below €25,000 with support from Spain's Auto+ programme, and Renault's electric R5 is selling at twice the expected rate in Spain, according to T&E's country director there.
High fuel prices are amplifying the shift. T&E estimates the oil price shock has cost EU road users €53 billion. As of mid-September, filling a 50-litre diesel tank cost €30 more than before the Iran war; Reuters reported that diesel has risen 38% since the conflict began. T&E calculates that switching to an electric car at the start of the crisis would have saved around €350 in running costs by mid-September.
Sales figures back the momentum. Between January and August 2026, 1.64 million battery-electric vehicles were sold across the EU, up 45% year-on-year, according to figures T&E cites from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). BEVs held a 22% share of new-car sales over the period, six points higher than a year earlier — and in the second quarter of 2026, battery-electric cars outsold pure petrol cars over a full quarter for the first time ever.
On the supply side, European carmakers dominate the model offering with nearly 60% of available models, adding 16 in the first half of 2026. Chinese manufacturers hold 21% and added 11, Reuters reported. The new affordable entries are helping European automakers close their compliance gaps under EU emissions rules and avoid fines. T&E expects all European carmakers to achieve compliance with the 2025–2027 targets.
The report ends with a warning to Brussels. Weakening the EU's 2030–2035 targets would "choke off affordable models by nearly three-quarters just as they are reaching the market," Mathieu said, "and lock millions across Europe into debilitating oil dependency." The targets debate is already underway: a European Commission proposal would give extra "super credits" to small electric cars under 4.20 metres, with an ID. Polo counting as 1.3 vehicles in a manufacturer's fleet-emissions calculation — a provision backed by Spain and France. T&E argues the current regulatory framework is exactly what is delivering cheap models and keeping European manufacturers in the global EV race.