The Stathis Vasilopoulos
The Greek car market increased speed in the first half of 2026, recording a strong rise in classifications and strong mobility in all key categories. Demand was particularly strengthened towards the end of the period, hybrids remained the dominant option, purely electric gained ground, without, however, still gaining an expanded footprint in the purchasing public, while Chinese brands developed into a calculated commercial force.
Between January and June approximately 83,970 new passenger cars were registered, an increased 7.4% compared to last year. Determining was the performance of June, when classifications reached about 18,670 units, rising 27.5%. This is the best monthly performance of the Greek market since the beginning of 2010, when more than 19,000 new cars had been registered. The June performance shows that, despite increased costs of buying and using a car, demand remains strong. The rise, however, is not evenly distributed in all traffic technologies. The major winner of the semester is hybrid cars with no external charge.
Their share rose to 56.6%, from about 48% a year earlier, confirming that more than one in two new cars released on the Greek roads now have a hybrid system. In June their rate was 55.2%, significantly higher than 37.8% recorded in the European Union. The rise of hybrids is explained by the combination of lower consumption, ease of use and absence of charging need. For the Greek driver, who often does not have a private parking space or easy access to a home charger, they are a safe transition solution. They offer part of the advantages of electric motion, without requiring a change in daily habits or design of routes around charging points.
Pure electric cars have also made remarkable progress. In the semester their classifications moved close to 5,300 units, increased by about 24%, with a 6.3% stake. The picture was even stronger in June, when sales increased by about 55% and the share reached 7.2%. Despite this dynamic, Greece is still significantly away from the rest of Europe, where pure electrics had conquered about 20% of the market during the first five months of the year. Electrification develops rapidly on a percentage basis, but still begins at a relatively low level. The purchase costs, the still limited density of the public charging network, the difficulty of installing a charger in many apartment buildings, the stress of autonomy and uncertainty about future resale value continue to operate inhibitives. Moreover, changes and extensions in subsidy programmes do not help to create a perfectly stable and predictable framework for consumers. More moderate was the course of plug-in hybrids, which occupied 6.2% of the market in the first half.
At the same time, petrol continued to lose ground, retreating to 25.4%, from 34.1% a year ago, while oil was now limited to a marginal role, with a share of just 2.5%. The shift of the market to electrified solutions is now clear, even if full electrification progresses at a slower rate.
The Chinese's "elevation"
In the first half of 2026 the strengthening of the presence of Chinese manufacturers in the Greek market, which recorded 7,452 classifications and obtained 8.9% of the Greek market, also stands out. To understand the speed of their penetration, the entire 2025 had carried out about 9,600 classifications and had secured a 6.6% stake. In just a semester they have already covered about 77% of their total last year's sales, while increasing their share by about 2.3 percentage points. The ranking is led by MG with 2,518 cars, followed by Cherry with 1,966 and BYD with 1,589 classifications. The three brands aggregate 6,073 cars, i.e. more than 81% of Chinese sales in Greece. Apart from the three protagonists, there is a wide range of competition, with names such as Omoda, Geely, Leapmotor, Jaecoo, Changan, Aion, Zeekr, Xpeng and Lynk & Co. In total, nearly 20 Chinese brands have already recorded at least one classification on the Greek market.
The first
In the individual firsts, Toyota retained its leading position in the market. In the semester he ranked 13,161 cars and won a 15.7% stake. Peugeot followed with 6,737 units and Suzuki with 5,642, while Citroën and Opel were almost tied in fourth and fifth place. Intensified appeared Dacia and Renault, which rose to seventh and eighth places respectively, while one year ago they were out of top ten. Only in June, Renault doubled its classifications, with the new Clio's main commercial lever.
At model level, Toyota Yaris Cross was the first semester best seller with 4.675 classifications. Peugeot 2008 followed with 3,763, while Toyota Yaris, thanks to its excellent performance in June, rose to third place with 3,282 cars. The first five completed Citroën C3 and Renault Clio. In the purely electric first in the semester was BYD Dolphin Surf, while in the plug-in hybrids the top was won by BMW X1.
