By September 2025 year-to-date (YTD), overall registrations in the European Union climbed by 0.9% compared to the same period last year, marking the third consecutive month of growth. This positive momentum was strongly capped off by a fantastic September, which alone posted a robust 10% increase.
However, the headline isn’t just about market recovery—it’s about a fundamental change in what Europeans are choosing to drive. The data confirms a massive power-shift is underway, with traditional fuels fading fast as electric and hybrid options seize the market.
While the focus often falls on fully electric cars, it is the Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (HEV) that remains the runaway favourite among EU consumers.
Hybrid-Electric (HEV): HEVs captured a massive 34.7% of the YTD market share, solidifying their spot as the preferred choice. This surge was driven by double-digit growth in all four major markets: France (+28.8%), Spain (+28.1%), Germany (+10.6%), and Italy (+9.2%).
Battery-Electric (BEV): Registrations of pure electric cars totaled 1,300,188 units, securing a 16.1% YTD market share—a decent rise from 13.1% last year. While positive, the growth pace still needs to accelerate for the EU to hit its transition targets. Gains were seen in key markets like Germany (+38.3%) and Belgium (+12.4%), though France saw a slight dip of 0.2% YTD.
Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV): This segment is roaring back, with a massive 65.4% increase in September alone, marking its seventh consecutive month of strong growth. PHEVs now account for 9% of all new car registrations, driven by explosive volume increases in Spain (+105.2%), Italy (+72.6%), and Germany (+63.9%).
The story on the other side of the fuel pump is one of rapid decline. As consumers switch to electric options, the combined market share for petrol and diesel cars has tumbled from 46.8% last year to just 37% YTD in 2025.
Petrol: Petrol car registrations dropped significantly by 18.7% YTD, with every major market experiencing a sharp decrease. France led the slide with registrations plummeting by 32.8%, followed by Germany (-23.5%). Petrol’s market share now stands at a mere 27.7%.
Diesel: The diesel market continues its rapid contraction, declining by 24.7% and settling with a YTD market share of just 9.3%.
[source: ACEA]
