The balance of power in Europe's new-car market is shifting faster than the incumbents can steady it. The latest European market data shows all five of the largest carmaker groups losing share at the same time, while battery-electric vehicles climbed to 24 percent of the market and China's Chery squeezed past Tesla in Europe. For dealers and importers across Central and Eastern Europe, that is a double signal: legacy volume is leaking, and the fastest-growing slice of demand is being claimed by a challenger from China.
The detail underlines the squeeze. Volkswagen Group slipped to 25.3 percent of the market from 26.7 percent, Stellantis to 14.5 from 14.8 percent, Renault Group to 9.2 from 10.1 percent and Hyundai Group to 7.3 from 8.0 percent, with BMW Group also finishing lower. The Schmidt Automotive Research Q3 European New Passenger Car Market Study, published in November 2026, finds European manufacturers' share of their home region dipping to a historic low — a situation the research house sums up as 'Lost in Transition'.
Renault's third-quarter results show what that pressure looks like from the inside — and why the incumbents are not folding. Group revenue rose 1.5 percent year on year to €11.596 billion, with automotive revenue broadly stable at €9.835 billion, even as global vehicle sales fell 6.0 percent to 497,799 units. The carmaker has held its 2026 targets, and the resulting clarity on inventories has steadied its stock.
