The Canary Islands Are Going Green: Sustainable Cars Now Make Up More Than Half of New Registrations
A greener future is arriving on the Canary Islands
If you’ve been driving around Lanzarote recently, you may have noticed something changing on the roads.
Hybrid cars, electric vehicles and other lower-emission models are becoming much more common, and the latest figures suggest that this isn’t simply a passing trend.
Across the Canary Islands, sustainable vehicles now account for more than half of new vehicle registrations.
Figures presented by the Canary Islands Government show that sustainable vehicle registrations between January and August 2026 were higher than during the same period in 2025, while registrations of conventional combustion vehicles moved in the opposite direction.
The Government says sustainable vehicles represented 55.5% of registrations during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 43% during the equivalent period of 2025. That represents a reported increase of 12.5 percentage points.
For a car-dependent island such as Lanzarote, the change could eventually have a noticeable effect on the vehicles residents drive, the cars visitors hire and the type of transport seen on the island’s roads.
Electric and hybrid cars are becoming a bigger part of everyday life
The move towards greener vehicles isn’t unique to Lanzarote or even the Canary Islands.
Across Spain, electrified vehicles have also been gaining ground rapidly during 2026.
National figures from ANFAC show that sales of electrified vehicles — including fully electric and plug-in hybrid models — continued to rise in August. More than 20,000 electrified vehicles were registered nationally during the month, with electrified cars accounting for 27.7% of new passenger-car sales.
Hybrid technology is proving particularly popular.
For many drivers, a hybrid offers a halfway point between a traditional petrol car and a fully electric vehicle. It can reduce fuel consumption without requiring the driver to rely entirely on charging infrastructure.
That can be particularly relevant on an island such as Lanzarote, where residents and visitors may travel considerable distances around the island during a single day.
What does this mean for Lanzarote?
Although the latest headline figures are for the Canary Islands as a whole, the wider change is particularly interesting for Lanzarote.
The island has a huge tourism sector, and thousands of visitors use rental cars to explore places such as Timanfaya, Playa Blanca, Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen, Haría and Famara.
That makes the type of vehicle available through Lanzarote car hire companies increasingly relevant.
A visitor arriving on holiday may soon find that choosing a hybrid or electric rental car is just as straightforward as choosing a conventional petrol model.
For residents, the decision is slightly different.
Buying an electric car involves thinking about home charging, access to public charging points, driving distances and the availability of suitable models. Hybrid cars can be an attractive alternative for people who want to reduce their fuel consumption without making the complete switch to an electric vehicle.
Combustion cars are losing ground
The other side of the story is the decline in registrations of conventional combustion vehicles.
According to the figures presented by the Canary Islands Government, registrations of combustion-engine vehicles fell by 27.1% between January and August 2026, compared with the same period of the previous year.
That doesn’t mean petrol and diesel cars are suddenly disappearing from Canary Islands roads.
Far from it.
The existing vehicle fleet remains enormous, and changing the vehicles people drive takes many years. A newly registered electric car doesn’t replace an older petrol or diesel vehicle overnight.
In fact, the Canary Islands had almost 2 million vehicles in circulation in 2025, according to ISTAC. More than half of the fleet fell into categories with lower-emission or more efficient engine classifications, including zero-emission, ECO and C-labelled vehicles.
So the real change is likely to be gradual — as older vehicles are replaced and a greater proportion of newly purchased cars use alternative technologies.
Lanzarote’s relationship with rental cars makes this particularly interesting
There is another reason the move towards sustainable vehicles is worth watching in Lanzarote.
Rental cars are a major part of the Canary Islands’ motoring market.
ISTAC recorded 22,731 vehicles registered for rental without a driver in 2025, representing 27.8% of all vehicle registrations that year.
That doesn’t mean all of those vehicles were on Lanzarote, but it highlights just how significant the rental sector is across the islands.
For tourists, therefore, the transition towards hybrid and electric rental cars in Lanzarote could become increasingly visible.
It could also influence what visitors consider when booking a hire car — particularly if they are looking for lower fuel costs or want to reduce the environmental impact of their holiday.
The electric revolution is even reaching Canary Islands motorsport
The shift towards electric vehicles isn’t being confined to ordinary road cars.
A new electric competition car is due to make its official Canary Islands motorsport debut at the Subida a La Cumbre in El Hierro on 12 September 2026.
The ZEROID X1, developed originally for the FIA RX2e Rallycross Championship, features four-wheel drive, two electric power units, around 360 horsepower and 510 Nm of torque. It uses a 33 kWh battery and a lightweight tubular chassis with a composite body.
The project forms part of “El Cero Más Cero”, an initiative involving the Canary Islands Government’s environmental department and the Canary Islands Automobile Federation to promote awareness of electric mobility.
It’s an interesting development because electric cars are sometimes still associated with quiet city driving and economical commuting.
Putting one into competitive motorsport sends a very different message: electric technology isn’t necessarily about sacrificing performance.
What does this mean for tourists visiting Lanzarote?
For holidaymakers, the change could eventually make choosing a sustainable rental car in Lanzarote much easier.
If you’re planning to explore the island by car, a hybrid can already make sense for visitors who expect to spend a lot of time driving between resorts, beaches, attractions and rural areas.
Fully electric cars are another option, although anyone hiring an EV should plan their journeys around charging availability rather than treating it exactly like a conventional petrol rental.
That is particularly important if you’re planning long days exploring the island.
A little forward planning can make electric-car travel around Lanzarote much less stressful.
And what about people living in Lanzarote?
For local residents, the transition could eventually have an even bigger impact.
As more electric and hybrid vehicles enter the market, there should be greater choice across different sizes and price ranges.
There is also the question of infrastructure.
More electric vehicles mean a greater need for reliable EV charging points in Lanzarote, both for residents and tourists.
Home charging is likely to remain particularly important for people who have suitable parking, while public charging infrastructure will be essential for visitors, apartment residents and drivers who cannot charge at home.
The success of the transition therefore won’t depend solely on how many electric cars are sold.
It will also depend on whether the supporting infrastructure keeps pace.
Lanzarote and the future of greener transport
The latest Canary Islands figures provide a useful snapshot of a much bigger change taking place across the Spanish automotive market.
Electric cars, plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids are becoming increasingly important, while new registrations of traditional combustion vehicles are falling.
There is still a long way to go before petrol and diesel vehicles disappear from Lanzarote’s roads — and nobody should expect that to happen overnight.
But the direction of travel is becoming clearer.
For Lanzarote residents, it could mean more choice when replacing an old vehicle.
For tourists, it could mean more hybrid and electric options when hiring a car.
And for the island itself, a gradual move towards cleaner vehicles could form an important part of the wider conversation about sustainable tourism in Lanzarote.
The roads of Lanzarote may look much the same for now, but the cars travelling along them are beginning to change.
