Europe New Car Sales Up 1.8% in 2025; BEVs Hit 17.4% Market Share

27 January 2026

In 2025, new EU car registrations increased by 1.8% compared to the same period last year. However, overall volumes remain well below pre-pandemic levels.

The battery-electric car market share reached 17.4%, in line with projections for the year, yet still a level that leaves room for growth to stay on track with the transition.

Hybrid-electric vehicles lead as the most popular power type choice among buyers, with plug-in hybrids consolidating their position in the market.

Battery-electric cars accounted for 17.4% of the EU market share in 2025, an increase from the low baseline of 13.6% one year earlier.

Hybrid-electric car registrations captured 34.5% of the market, remaining the preferred choice among consumers in the EU.

Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 35.5%, down from 45.2% in 2024.

Electric cars

In 2025, 1,880,370 new battery-electric cars were registered, capturing 17.4% of the EU market share.

The four largest markets in the EU, which together account for 62% of battery-electric car registrations, saw growth: Germany (+43.2%), the Netherlands (+18.1%), Belgium (+12.6%), and France (+12.5%).

January to December 2025 figures also showed new EU hybrid-electric car registrations rising to 3,733,325 units, driven by growth in the four biggest markets: Spain (+23.1%), France (+21.6%), Germany (+8%), and Italy (+7.9%).

Hybrid-electric models account for 34.5% of the total EU market.

Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars continue to grow, reaching 1,015,887 units during the same period.

This was driven by increases in volume for key markets such as Spain (+111.7%), Italy (+86.6%), and Germany (+62.3%).

Therefore, plug-in-hybrid electric cars now represent 9.4% of EU car registrations, up from 7.2% last year.

The year-over-year (YOY) variation for December 2025 showed a surge of 51% for battery-electric and 36.7% for plug-in-hybrid electric cars, while hybrid-electric recorded a 5.8% increase.

Petrol and diesel cars

By the end of 2025, petrol car registrations dropped by 18.7%, with all major markets experiencing decreases.

France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 32%, followed by Germany (-21.6%), Italy (-18.2%), and Spain (-16%).

With 2,880,298 new cars registered in 2025, the market share for petrol fell to 26.6% from 33.3% a year earlier.

The diesel car market continued to decline, with registrations down by 24.2%, resulting in an 8.9% share in 2025.

Moreover, the December 2025 YOY variation showed a 19.2% decline for petrol and 22.4% for diesel.

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