CEE Car Market Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels as Western Europe Stalls

The automotive market in Central and Eastern Europe has entered a new phase. According to the latest Autowallis CEE Automotive Report, the combined new passenger car market of the eight analyzed CEE countries (CEE8) exceeded its pre-pandemic first-half level in the first half of 2026 — meaning the region has not only recovered from the pandemic shock but moved decisively beyond it.

The contrast with the western half of the continent is stark. While passenger car sales across the entire European Union fell by 1.9% in the first half, the CEE region outperformed the EU average with an average growth rate of 1.8%. Several Western European markets have stalled, reinforcing the picture of a divided Europe in which demand growth is increasingly concentrated in the east.

The current upswing builds on an already strong base. Automobile sales across the 20 countries of Central and Eastern Europe increased by 16.4% year-on-year to 4,938,196 units in 2024, the region's highest result in the past 11 years, according to an AAA Weekly overview of the market.

Momentum has carried into recent months. European car sales growth accelerated last month, extending a run of gains this year as buyers turn to electric cars, with Chinese manufacturers capturing much of the increase, Bloomberg reports. For dealers and importers across the CEE region, the growing weight of electrified and Chinese-brand vehicles is adding new considerations when sourcing stock.

Used vehicles remain central to the region's growth story. Poland stands out as the fast-growing country market in Europe's used-car sector, expanding at approximately 6.9% CAGR through 2033, driven by rising household incomes and the world's highest per-capita used-car imports. Dealers and buyers looking to source related vehicles — from used imports for the Polish market to passenger cars for the wider region — can find them on WorldTrader24.de, a European marketplace listing more than 70,000 vehicles.

With new-car demand in CEE now above pre-pandemic levels and used-car demand accelerating in parallel, cross-border access to vehicle inventory is becoming a competitive factor for the region's trade. Platforms such as WorldTrader24.de, with over 70,000 vehicles listed from across Europe, give dealers and buyers a single destination to find the stock behind the region's growth.