According to data from ACEA, the European Car Manufacturers Association, new EU car registrations fell by 1.2% in April 2025 compared to last year’s first four months. Nonetheless, registrations rebounded with a 1.3% increase last month, showing signs of recovery despite the ongoing unpredictable global economic environment.
The battery-electric car market share for April 2025 YTD stood at 15.3%, 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.
Until April 2025, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 15.3% of the total EU market share, an increase from the low of 12% in April 2024 YTD. Hybrid-electric vehicles surged, capturing 35.3% of the market and remaining the preferred choice among EU consumers. Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell again to 38.2%, down from 48.4% over the same four-month period in 2024.
By power source
Electric
In the first four months of 2025, new battery-electric car sales grew by 26.4%, to 558,262 units, capturing 15.3% of the 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 (+42.8%), Belgium (+31.3%), and the Netherlands (+6.4%). This contrasted with France, which saw a decline of 4.4%, despite the slight recovery in April 2025 (+2.8%). In April, registrations of EVs in the EU grew by 34.1%.
Hybrid
April 2025’s YTD figures also showed new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars (HEVs) rising by 20.8%, driven by significant growth in the four biggest markets: France (+44.9%), Spain (+35.8%), Italy (+15%), and Germany (+11%). This led to 1,285,486 units being registered in the first four months of 2025, representing 35.3% of the total EU market share.
Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) grew by 7.8% in April 2025 YTD to 287,850 units. This was driven by significant increases in volume for key markets such as Germany (+46.6%) and Spain (+42.8%). As a result, plug-in hybrid electric cars now represent 7.9% of total car registrations in the EU, up from 7.2% in April 2024 YTD.
Furthermore, in April 2025, the YOY variation for hybrid-electric cars rose by 20.8%, while plug-in hybrid electric cars recorded a strong 31.2% growth.
Petrol and diesel
By the end of April 2025, petrol car registrations had significantly declined by 20.6%, with all major markets showing decreases. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 35.2%, followed by Germany (-26.6%), Italy (-14.4%), and Spain (-12.7%). With 1,041,176 new cars registered so far, the market share for petrol dropped to 28.6%, down from 35.6% during the same period last year.
Similarly, the diesel car market declined by 26.4%, resulting in a 9.6% market share for diesel vehicles in April 2025 YTD. Overall, double-digit declines were observed in most EU markets. Additionally, the April 2025 YOY variation showed a decrease of 20.6% for petrol and 24.4%
for diesel. The same tendencies were generally seen in the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland) and the UK. In the latter, PHEV registrations were soaring in April(+34.1%).
By make
As usual, Volkswagen Group led the dance with a 27.8% market share in April. Stellantsi follows with a 16.3% share, and Renault Group is third with 11.1%. Toyota comes fourth (8.1%), and Hyundai is fifth (7.9%). BMW Group is sixth (7.2%), and Mercedes-Benz is seventh (5.1%). Ford is eighth (3.0%), Volvo Cars ninth (2.5%), and Chinese SAIC Motor enters the top ten with 1.9% market share.
The most noticeable evolutions in April were the continuous fall of Tesla sales (-52.6%) and the almost disappearance of Jaguar (38 sales compared to 623 last year). Good performances were for Cupra (+51.4%), Alfa Romeo (+39.3%), Mini (+46.2%), and, of course, SAIC Motor (+54%). Looking at the first four months, we see approximately the same order and winners or losers. The difference is that Nissan is still in ninth place, and SAIC Motor occupies 11th place. Tesla has dropped to 13th place with 1.1% market share, down from 2.1%.
