Europe's Best-Selling EVs in July 2026 Preview Tomorrow's Used Market (But Not the Way You'd Expect)

One New European Car in Four Was Already Electric in July

In July 2026, registrations of fully electric cars across Europe came close to 280,000 units, up 51 percent year over year. The market share of zero-emission models climbed from 17.2 percent to 24.9 percent: one in four new cars sold across the EU, the UK and the EFTA countries was now fully electric. According to analysts at Jato Dynamics, this jump marks a genuine turning point in the transition, not just a statistical blip.

For anyone watching the used-car market — including Italian sellers and buyers — these numbers matter more than they might seem to. Cars sold today through long-term rental and leasing overwhelmingly become the cars listed on classifieds sites two, three or four years down the line, once those contracts expire. Understanding who wins in Europe today gives a genuine preview of what will crowd tomorrow's used-EV listings.

July's Ranking: Who's Winning in Europe

The Skoda Elroq was Europe's best-selling EV in July, with 9,940 units registered, ahead of the Volkswagen ID.4 (8,609) and a surprisingly strong Renault 5 E-Tech (8,498). The BMW iX1 (7,495) and BMW iX3 (6,916) followed, then the Skoda Enyaq (6,907) and the electric Mercedes CLA (6,282). The Volkswagen Group, spanning Skoda, VW and Audi, continues to dominate Europe's EV sales by a wide margin, helped by a lineup that has matured across multiple segments and prices that are finally competitive compared with the early years of the transition.

It's a very different picture from just a year ago, when Tesla still comfortably led almost every monthly ranking. Today the California carmaker struggles to stay in the top ten, overtaken by cheaper European rivals and, in some months, by Chinese brands like BYD as well.

Italy Watches From the Sidelines: A Different Story Entirely

The picture looks quite different in Italy. In July, electric cars accounted for just 5.9 percent of new registrations, against Europe's 24.9 percent — a huge gap that reflects still-high prices, recently exhausted state incentives, and a charging network far less dense than Germany's or the Netherlands'. Even the model ranking flips: in Italy, the BMW iX1 sits third with 286 units, the iX3 sold 214, and the Skoda Elroq, Europe's number one, managed just 180. These are small numbers that describe a market still niche compared with the rest of the continent, and skewed toward premium German models rather than the mainstream city cars that dominate elsewhere.

Why Today's Ranking Matters for Tomorrow's Used Buyers

Most EVs sold in Europe don't go to a private owner who keeps the car for a decade. They move through long-term rental, corporate fleets and financial leasing — contracts that typically run two to four years. That means the models topping today's charts — the Elroq, ID.4, Renault 5, iX1 and iX3 — are very likely the EVs we'll see most often on the European used market between 2028 and 2030, with modest mileage, service history documented at official dealers, and often still under the manufacturer's battery warranty.

The Residual-Value Time Bomb

There's a complication shaking the whole leasing industry, though: a collapse in the residual values of leased EVs. The price war triggered by Tesla's list-price cuts and the aggressive arrival of Chinese brands like BYD and MG has rapidly devalued higher-end used EVs, leaving rental giants such as Ayvens (born from the ALD-LeasePlan merger) and Arval holding fleets whose real market value falls well short of what their original contracts assumed. In practice, leasing companies are raising monthly rates on new EVs to hedge against future devaluation — a mechanism that risks slowing corporate EV adoption further, right as private demand also stays soft.

Italy's Paradox: Used EVs Are Heading North

Here's the twist that matters most for anyone buying or selling in Italy. Despite the wave of lease returns expected across Europe, that supply isn't flowing into the Italian domestic market the way you'd expect. According to the most recent data, over 60 percent of EVs coming off Italian lease contracts are now exported to the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Germany — markets with stronger charging infrastructure and much deeper used-EV demand. The brands Italian dealers trade abroad most are BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, at an average export price around 33,100 euros — the very same premium German models that also sell best as new cars in Italy.

The result is a paradox: while European sales charts point to an imminent flood of used EVs, the real supply reaching Italian buyers looks set to stay tighter — and prices firmer — than a glance at new-car sales figures would suggest.

What This Means If You're Selling or Buying in Italy Right Now

If you're selling: a well-kept premium German EV, with a documented battery and full service history, currently has a bigger market abroad than at home, which tends to support asking prices even on a local listing. If you're buying: don't wait around for a flood of cut-price used EVs that, based on the export data, may never fully materialize on the domestic market at scale. It makes more sense to act when the right car turns up, always check the remaining battery warranty (often transferable to a new owner), and keep an eye specifically on today's European best-sellers — the Skoda Elroq and Enyaq, the BMW iX1 and iX3, the Renault 5 E-Tech, the Volkswagen ID.4 — because those are the models set to define Italy's used-EV market once the first wave of leases genuinely starts expiring in a couple of years.

Sources / Further reading

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