New vehicle registrations in Georgia fell by 9.4% year-on-year to 40,053 in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Registrations of petrol and diesel vehicles declined even more sharply, dropping 23% to 23,925 units, following a significant increase in import excise taxes.
Since April 2026, the customs excise duty on petrol and diesel vehicles older than six years has increased 4.5-fold. Meanwhile, hybrids up to six years old retained a 60% tax discount, while electric vehicles continued to benefit from a zero excise rate. As a result, the combined share of hybrid and electric vehicles in new registrations increased from 30% to 40%.
Electric vehicle registrations surged 116% year-on-year to 4,556 units, accounting for 11.37% of all newly registered cars, compared with 4.76% in the same period of 2025. Tesla led the market with 2,593 registrations, followed by Nissan (433), Chevrolet (190), Ford (154) and Volkswagen (145). Toyota and Kia recorded particularly strong annual growth of 355% and 425%, respectively.
Hybrid registrations reached 11,464 units in the third quarter, accounting for 28.62% of all newly registered vehicles, up from 24.5% a year earlier. The figures indicate a shift in consumer demand towards electric and hybrid vehicles following the introduction of higher taxes on older internal combustion engine cars.
