Europe's new car market has just crossed a threshold that would have sounded like science fiction a decade ago: across the EU, battery-electric vehicles have outsold petrol and diesel cars combined — a historic milestone for the continent's powertrain transition. In France, Germany, Belgium, the UK, Portugal and Ireland, EVs now claim more than a quarter of all new car sales. And then there is Croatia, where electricity still powers just 4.2% of the vehicles rolling out of showrooms.
On paper, the Adriatic republic looks like the continent's conspicuous laggard — but the trajectory tells another story entirely. Croatian EV sales have surged 244% compared with 2025, a pace of growth that would turn heads even in Europe's most mature EV markets. From a base this low, Croatia is not so much resisting the electric transition as arriving late to it — and now sprinting to make up for lost time.
The wider region offers little tailwind to ride. Eastern Europe's car market is seen at roughly 3.4 million units, growing a modest 0.6% — a slow tide that lifts few boats. Yet Croatia's compact market still attracts fresh capital and fresh badges: Spanish marque Ebro has planted its flag with four SUV models and a first sales and service centre in Zagreb, a bet that a showroom floor still dominated by combustion has room for newcomers.
