According to AutoWallis’ latest CEE Automotive Report, the new car market in Central and Eastern Europe has already exceeded pre-Covid levels. Still, the next phase of growth will be shaped not only by demand, but also by affordability, infrastructure development, and the arrival of new competitors.

 The automotive market in Central and Eastern Europe entered a new phase in the first half of 2026: the combined new passenger car market of the eight analyzed CEE countries (CEE8) exceeded its first-half 2019, pre-Covid volume by approximately 1%, while the European Union as a whole has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This is according to the latest edition of AutoWallis’ CEE Automotive Report. Passenger car registrations in the region increased by 8.9% and light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations by 14.4% in the first half of 2026, compared with growth of 5.7% and 1.9%, respectively, across the EU.

 Published every six months, the AutoWallis CEE Automotive Report analyses economic, demand, powertrain and infrastructure trends across the Central and Eastern European automotive market. One of the report’s key findings is that the CEE region can no longer be seen as simply a catching-up market. Several indicators show the region has recovered faster than the EU average, although increasingly significant differences are emerging between individual countries. Poland and Croatia have clearly moved beyond pre-pandemic volumes, while the Czech Republic and Hungary have essentially returned to their 2019 baseline levels. Austria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia remain below pre-Covid levels.

 Beyond the passenger car segment, light commercial vehicles provide an important signal, as this market is particularly sensitive to corporate demand, investment activity, and fleet renewal decisions. While new LCV registrations increased by only 1.9% across the EU, growth reached 14.4% in the analyzed CEE countries. However, regional differences are considerable: Austria recorded a 46.4% increase, Poland grew by 14.4%, while Romania experienced a 5.0% decline.

 According to the report, electrification continues, but the actual market transition differs from expectations prevalent only a few years ago. In the first half of 2026, hybrid-electric vehicles accounted for 37.3% of new passenger car registrations in the EU and 40.7% in the CEE region, making hybrid technology the true mass-market transitional powertrain. By contrast, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) represented 20.7% of new passenger car registrations in the EU and only 10.2% in the CEE region, meaning the region’s BEV penetration remains roughly half the EU average.

 At the same time, the data shows that Central and Eastern Europe is not being left behind in the electrification transition, but is progressing through a different pathway. Combined BEV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations grew by 45.1% in the CEE region, compared with 34.2% growth in the EU. Austria stood out with a 24.3% BEV share among new passenger cars, while Hungary recorded the highest share of electric light commercial vehicles among the analyzed countries at 14.8%.

 One key question for the coming years is whether infrastructure development can keep pace with the growth of electric mobility. According to the report, more than 1.17 million public charging points were in operation across the EU27 in the second quarter of 2026, representing an 18.0% increase year-on-year. Within the region, Romania recorded the strongest expansion of public charging infrastructure, with growth of 66.4%. Hungary led another ranking, albeit a less favorable one: the utilization pressure on its charging network remains exceptionally high, with 18.5 BEVs per public charging point, compared with an EU average of 7.0.

 An aging vehicle fleet and lower motorization levels still support the region’s long-term growth potential. However, the report highlights that these factors no longer translate automatically into future sales; affordability has become equally important. The average age of passenger cars in the CEE region exceeds the EU average by two years, while commercial vehicles are on average 1.2 years older. The number of passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants stands at 570 across the EU27, compared with 531 in the CEE8 countries and only 445 in Hungary, indicating significant replacement and growth potential. Nevertheless, vehicle prices, exchange rates, financing conditions, and the predictability of incentive schemes increasingly influence purchasing decisions.

 The report also highlights that the next phase of competition in the automotive sector will be shaped not only by the transition to new powertrains but also by the growing presence of new market entrants. Asian manufacturers, particularly Chinese brands, increasingly regard Central and Eastern Europe as an important platform for European growth, intensifying competition between established legacy players and newcomers. In this environment, affordability, financing accessibility and total cost of ownership are becoming key purchasing criteria.

 AutoWallis’ analysis further concludes that the automotive industry’s risk map continues to expand. Alongside geopolitical exposure, tariffs, energy prices and supply chain vulnerabilities, climate change is becoming a more direct operational risk factor. The extreme heatwaves of summer 2026, water scarcity, and energy supply challenges are no longer only sustainability concerns; they are increasingly affecting industrial production and supply chain resilience.

 “One of the key conclusions of our report analyzing the first-half 2026 data is that the future of the automotive industry will increasingly be defined by the ability to adapt to change. AutoWallis operates across multiple CEE markets, represents a broad portfolio of brands and is active in several automotive business models, allowing us to view regional developments not in isolation, but within a broader context. This perspective helps us manage market risks while also identifying new growth opportunities at an early stage,” said Gábor Ormosy, Chief Executive Officer of AutoWallis, during the professional background discussion presenting the report.

 One of the core messages of the AutoWallis CEE Automotive Report 2026H1 is that the Central and Eastern European automotive market is no longer a single, uniform story. While electric mobility is accelerating rapidly in some countries, in others the primary growth drivers remain motorization and fleet renewal. The winners in the coming years are likely to be market participants who see this diversity not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity.

 The full report is available here.