European Sales of Electric Vans and Pickups soared in July

• The strong growth of electric LCV was not enough to offset the big drop posted by their diesel counterparts.
• The UK and Poland drove growth in contrast to France and Italy.
• Chinese players with a marginal role.

Frankfurt, Germany – The European new light commercial vehicle (up to 3.5 tonnes of weight) market recorded a sales drop in July. According to Dataforce information for 30 markets in the region – 26 nations from the European Union plus the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland – the sales of these vehicles totaled 148,139 units last month. This means that the sales decreased by 4.0% compared to July 2025.

Despite the negative result, the year-to-date’s total increased by 0.5% to 1,052,527 units.

Country-wise, the drop during the month was explained by a double-digit fall in France, which came from topping the ranking in July 2025 to occupy the second position last month behind the UK. Germany, which outsold the UK a year ago, occupied the third position as its volumes went down by 6.0%. Italy, Belgium, and Austria, among others, posted double-digit drops too.

The most interesting part of last month’s results is the important role that played the electric LCVs. The data shows that a total of 19,991 units of these vehicles were sold in July 2026, up by 44% compared to July 2025, when the market had sold 13,856 units. The increase is substantially higher than the one registered between January and July, up by 28%, and confirm the increasing momentum of this fuel type in this segment. So far this year, almost 119,000 electric LCVs have been sold in the region.

However, they are still far behind the popularity of the diesel light commercial vehicles. In July, this fuel type made up 78% of the total market, losing five percentage points of share compared to July 2025. Their sales decreased by 10%. Basically, the strong growth posted by the electric LCVs is not yet enough to offset the big loses coming from their diesel rivals.

France and the UK led the electric LCV market with 4,013 and 3,995 units respectively. Germany came third, but Italy and Spain did not make part of the usual top 5, as they were outsold by the Netherlands in fourth position, and Portugal, whose volume soared by 208% from 331 units in July 2025 to 1,019 units last month.

In fact, Portugal was among the four top countries with the highest electric LCV market share (35%) along with the Denmark (45%), Norway (57%), and Netherlands (77%). On the other hand, this kind of LCVs are hardly seen in the roads of Cyprus (1.7%), Slovenia (2.6%) and Poland (3.7%).

Stellantis keeps the leadership. When it is about vans and pickups, Stellantis is the leader in Europe.

Last month, it sold 38,262 units, representing almost 26% of the total market. This is a higher market share than the one it usually has in the passenger cars segment. Nevertheless, its four big brands all recorded sales drops during the month with Opel/Vauxhall seeing the worst result, down by 20%.

Ford occupied the second position counting by groups as it sold 28,885 units, down by 1.6%, making it the top-selling brand once again. Its popularity is based on its Turkishmade vans and the strong presence of the Ford Ranger as Europe’s top-selling pickup truck.

In opposition to the situation of Stellantis, the Volkswagen Group has a weaker presence in the LCV market than in the passenger cars one. Last month, it was the third top-selling LCV group but its market share of just 13% contrasts to its strong position in the PC market. The Volkswagen brand made up 87% of the group’s total.

China is not yet a threat.

Finally, there is China. The data for July shows that the Chinese brands barely changed the game as their market share continued to be marginal. A year ago, their sales counted for 1.7% of the total market. This year in July, the market share totaled 1.5%, and 1.4% in January-July.

SAIC, the owner of Maxus and MG, is by far the largest from China, making up 71% of their LCV sales. However, it sold just 1,560 units in July and 10,792 units during the first seven months. BAIC followed thanks to its Foton brand.

Their timid role in the LCV market is another confirmation that the Chinese makers’ priority in Europe continues to be the passenger car market. For now.

You can find out more about the development of the Commercial Vehicles market in Europe in July 2026 by clicking here.