January 2025 saw a 2.6% decline in new EU car registrations. This decrease was reflected in major markets like France (6.2% down), Italy (5.8% down), and Germany (2.8% down), although Spain bucked the trend with a 5.3% increase.
Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) captured 15% of the market share in January, a notable rise from 10.9% in January 2024. Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) proved even more popular, seizing nearly 34.9% of the market and becoming the top choice for EU car buyers.
Conversely, the combined market share of traditional petrol and diesel cars dropped significantly to 39.4%, compared to 48.7% a year prior.
Last month, EV sales grew by 34% to 124,341 units, capturing a 15% market share. Three of the four largest markets in the region, together accounting for 64% of all battery-electric car registrations, recorded robust double-digit gains: Germany (+53.5%), Belgium (+37.2%), and the Netherlands (+28.2%), while France saw a slight decline of -0.5%.
In January, new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars increased by 18.4%, boosted by significant growth in the four biggest markets: France (+52.2%), Spain (+23.5%), Germany (+13.7%), and Italy (+10.6%). This led to 290,014 units registered in the first month of 2025, representing 34.9% of the EU market share.
Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric cars declined in January 2025, dropping by 8.5% to 61,406 units. This decrease was primarily driven by significant reductions in key markets such as Belgium (-66.6%) and France (-54%). As a result, plug-in hybrid electric cars now represent 7.4% of total car sales in the EU.
Last month, petrol car registrations saw a significant decline of 18.9%, with all major markets showing decreases. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 28.2%, followed by Germany (-23.7%), Italy (-17%), and Spain (-11.1%). With 244,763 new cars registered last month, the market share for petrol dropped to 29.4%, down from 35.4% in the same month last year. Similarly, the diesel car market declined by 27%, resulting in a 10% market share for diesel vehicles last January. Overall, double-digit declines were observed in most EU markets.
[source: ACEA]
