A record for electric cars in Portugal: 47.7 percent of new passenger cars were fully electric in September

The electric transformation in the Portuguese automobile market reached a remarkable threshold in September. According to Associação Automóvel de Portugal (ACAP) data, 47.7 percent of new passenger cars registered in the country in September were fully electric vehicles.

This ratio shows that fully electric cars, which constituted a small part of the market just a few years ago, are now at the center of the new car market.

However, it is important to read the number correctly:

47.7 percent of all cars on the roads in Portugal are not electric.

The rate only refers to passenger cars newly registered in September 2026.

23 thousand 294 new vehicles were registered in September

According to official data of ACAP, 23 thousand 294 new motor vehicles were registered in Portugal in September, including all categories.

This number means a 13.4 percent increase compared to September 2025.

In the passenger car category, 19 thousand 589 new vehicles were registered.

The annual increase here is 15.2 percent.

In the January-September period, a total of 220 thousand 926 new vehicles entered the traffic in all categories in Portugal.

This means an increase of 10.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

Electrics increased by 29 percent throughout the year

Although the rate of 47.7 percent in September is quite high, the data showing the entire year is lower.

In the January-September period, 29 percent of new passenger cars were fully electric (BEV) vehicles.

In the same period The share of classic hybrids (HEV) was 26.2 percent, and the share of plug-in hybrids (PHEV) was 15 percent.

According to ACAP, when considered together, alternative energy cars constituted 76.8 percent of new passenger car registrations in the first nine months of the year.

It should be noted that the "alternative energy" category here does not only consist of fully electric vehicles.

The weight of gasoline and diesel vehicles is decreasing

The broader shift the data reveals is the rapid shift of the new car market in Portugal away from internal combustion engines and towards electric and hybrid systems.

This does not mean that the current vehicle fleet on the roads is changing at the same pace.

Gasoline and diesel cars, which have been used in Portugal for years, continue to constitute the majority of the vehicle park.

The new registration data shows the direction in which the preferences of car buyers are heading today.

What costs should electric vehicle buyers take into account?

The cost of using electric vehicles is not only determined by the purchase price of the car.

The mileage cost of a user who can charge at home and a driver who only uses public charging stations can differ significantly.

In Portugal, the electricity tariff, the charging operator used, the power of the charging point and the commercial pricing model affect the total cost.

For this reason, the rapid increase in electric car sales It does not lead to the conclusion that “electric vehicles are automatically cheaper for every user”.

However, ACAP's September figure is very clear in terms of market trend:

Almost one in every two new passenger cars sold in a single month in Portugal is now fully electric.

Resources

ACAP — Mercado Automóvel em Portugal com crescimento de 13,4 por cento em setembro de 2026

https://www.acap.pt/pt/noticia/1400/mercado-automovel-em-portugal-com-crescimento-de-134-por-cento-em-setembro-de-2026/7

Jornal Económico — October 4, 2026

https://jornaleconomico.sapo.pt/noticias/mercado-automovel-portugues-cresce-134-em-setembro-e-eletricos-ja-representam-quase-metade-das-matriculas-de-ligeiros-de-passageiros/