In Q1 2025, new EU car registrations declined by 1.9% compared to Q1 2024, with March 2025 figures showing a slight 0.2% year-on-year (YOY) decline as the global economic context remains particularly challenging and unpredictable for auto makers.
The battery-electric car market share stood at 15.2% market in Q1 2025, still far from where it was expected to be. Hybrid-electric models continue to grow in popularity, retaining their place as the most popular power type amongst buyers.
New EU car registrations by power source
Up until March 2025, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 15.2% of total EU market share, signifying an increase from the low baseline of 12% in Q1 2024. Hybrid-electric vehicles surged, capturing 35.5% of the market and remaining the preferred choice among EU consumers. Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 38.3%, down from 48.3% over the same period in 2024.
Electric cars
In the first quarter of 2025, new battery-electric car sales grew by 23.9%, to 412,997 units, capturing 15.2% of total EU market share. Three of the four largest markets in the EU, accounting for 63% of all battery-electric car registrations, recorded robust gains: Germany (+38.9%), Belgium (+29.9%), and the Netherlands (+7.9%). This contrasted with France, which saw a decline of 6.6%.
Q1 2025’s figures also showed new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars rising by 20.7%, driven by significant growth in the four biggest markets: France (+47.5%), Spain (+36.6%), Italy (+15.3%), and Germany (+10.5%). This led to 964,108 units registered in the first quarter of 2025, representing 35.5% of the EU market share.
Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars grew by 1.1% in Q1 2025, with a total of 207,048 units. This was primarily driven by significant increases in volume for key markets such as Germany (+41.8%) and Spain (+30.7%). As a result, plug-in-hybrid electric cars represent 7.6% of total car registrations in the EU, up from 7.4% in Q1 2024.
Furthermore, in March 2025 YOY variation showed a rise of 17.1% for battery-electric and 23.9% for hybrid-electric cars, while plug-in-hybrid electric recorded 12.4% growth.
Petrol and diesel cars
By the end of the first quarter of 2025, petrol car registrations saw a significant decline of 20.6%, with all major markets showing decreases. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 34.1%, followed by Germany (-26.6%), Italy (-15.8%), and Spain (-9.5%).
With 779,817 new cars registered so far, the market share for petrol dropped to 28.7%, down from 35.5% during the same period last year. Similarly, the diesel car market declined by 27.1%, resulting in a 9.5% market share for diesel vehicles in Q1 2025. Overall, double-digit declines were observed in most EU markets. Additionally, the March 2025 YOY variation showed a decline of 20.7% for petrol and 25.5% for diesel.
