According to the data of the European car manufacturers’ association, ACEA, new car registrations increased by 1.6% in May, compared to the same month last year. EV sales rose 25% last month. For the first five months, there was a slight decrease of 0.6% due to fewer sales in the first three months of this year.
The battery-electric car market share for May 2025 YTD stood at 15.4%. Hybrid-electric models also continue to grow in popularity, retaining their place as the most popular power type among buyers.
By power source
Until May 2025, battery-electric cars accounted for 15.4% of the total EU market share, representing an increase from the low baseline of 12.1% in May 2024 year-to-date.
Hybrid-electric car registrations continue to surge, capturing 35.1% of the market, remaining the preferred choice among EU consumers. Meanwhile, the combined market share of gasoline and diesel cars fell to 38.1%, down from 48.5% over the same period in 2024.
Electric
In the first five months of 2025, new battery-electric car sales reached 701,089 units, capturing 15.4% of the total EU market share. Three of the four largest markets in the EU, accounting for 62% of all battery-electric car registrations, saw gains: Germany (+43.2%), Belgium (+26.7%), and the Netherlands (+6.7%). This contrasted with France, which saw a decline of 7.1%.
In May, sales of BEVs increased by 25%, with considerable increases in most Eastern European countries but also some already established EV-selling countries like Austria (+57.4%), Denmark (+51.4%), Germany (+44.9%), Italy (+40.8%), Portugal (+42.3%), Spain (+104.1%, and Sweden (+24.3%). In the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland), there were 52% more BEV sales, while in the UK, the figure was 25.8%.
Hybrid
May 2025’s YTD figures also showed new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars rose to 1,601,090 units, driven by growth in the four biggest markets: France (+38.3%), Spain (+34.9%), Italy (+13.8%), and Germany (+12.1%). Hybrid-electric models now account for 35.1% of the total EU market share.
Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars in May 2025 YTD reached 375,182 units. This was driven by increases in volume for key markets such as Germany (+52.8%) and Spain (+66.6%). As a result, plug-in-hybrid electric cars now represent 8.2% of total car registrations in the EU, up from 7.1% in May 2024 YTD.
Moreover, the YOY variation in May 2025 showed a rise of 16% for hybrid-electric cars, while plug-in-hybrid electric recorded its third consecutive month of strong growth with a 46.9% increase.
Tendencies in the UK were very similar. In the EFTA countries, hybrids are unpopular in Norway, but show the same increases in the other two countries.
Gasoline and diesel
By the end of May 2025, gasoline car registrations had declined by 20.2%, with all major markets experiencing decreases. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 34.3%, followed by Germany (-26.1%), Italy (-15.4%), and Spain (-13.3%).
With 1,305,525 new cars registered so far, the market share for gasoline dropped to 28.6%, down from 35.6%. Similarly, the diesel car market declined by 26.6%, resulting in a 9.5% share for diesel vehicles in May 2025 YTD. Additionally, the May 2025 YOY variation showed a decline of 18.6% for gasoline and 27.6% for diesel.
By brand
The Volkswagen Group stays comfortably number one in the EU in May, even increasing its sales (+4.8%) and market share (+0.9% to 28.5%). The number two, Stellantis Group, slides further down, with a 5.2% decline in sales, resulting in a decrease from 17.4% to 16.2% in market share. Renault Group remains third, with a slight increase in sales (thanks to Dacia) (+4%), and a market share of 11%.
Toyota Group and Hyundai Group have been battling for months now. Both are losing sales and market share, but Toyota remains in the lead (8.2% market share), followed by Hyundai (7.6%). BMW Group, in sixth place, is closing in, selling 8.1% more cars and reaching a 6.8% market share.
Mercedes is in seventh place, selling slightly more in May (+3.9%), with a market share of 5.2%. The battle between Ford and Volvo for eighth place is currently won by Ford, with the American manufacturer holding a 2.9% market share, while Volvo drops to 2.3%.
Nissan remains in the top ten for the first five months but loses its tenth place in May to SAIC Motor, which captures 2% of the market. The decline of Tesla continues, with 40.5% fewer sales in May and a 45.2% decrease in sales for the first five months of the year. Tesla’s market share has now fallen to approximately 1%.
Suzuki (12th), Mazda (14th), and JLR (15th) all experience declines in sales and market share. JLR’s daughter, Jaguar, sold 104 cars in May across Europe, representing a 79.7% decrease from May 2024.
For the first five months of 2025, the brand hierarchy remained the same as in May, with the only exception being that Chinese SAIC Motor entered the top 10 this month, having been in eleventh place between January and May 2025.
