New car registrations: -1.2% in April 2025 year-to-date; battery-electric 15.3% market share
In April 2025 year-to-date (YTD), new EU car registrations fell by 1.2% compared to the same period last year. Nonetheless, registrations in April rebounded with a 1.3% year-on-year (YOY) increase, 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.
New EU car registrations by power source
Up until April 2025, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 15.3% of the total EU market share, signifying an increase from the low baseline 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 period in 2024.
Electric cars
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 recovery seen in April 2025.
April 2025’s YTD figures also showed new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars 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 grew by 7.8% in April 2025 YTD, to a total of 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’s YOY variation showed a rise of 34.1% for battery-electric and 20.8% for hybrid-electric cars, while plug-in-hybrid electric recorded a strong 31.2% growth.
Petrol and diesel cars
By the end of April 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 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 decline of 20.6% for petrol and 24.4% for diesel.
In April 2025 year-to-date (YTD), new EU car registrations fell by 1.2% compared to the same period last year. Nonetheless, registrations in April rebounded with a 1.3% year-on-year (YOY) increase, showing signs of recovery despite the ongoing unpredictable global economic environment.
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About ACEA
- The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) represents the 16 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Group, Stellantis, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars, and Volvo Group.
- Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on www.x.com/ACEA_auto or www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/.
Contact:
- Ben Kennard, Head of Communications, bk@acea.auto, +32 (0) 2 738 73 17
- Julien Hoez, Media Relations Manager, jh@acea.auto, +32 (0) 2 738 73 45
- Pedro Gomes Nogueira, Automotive Intelligence Manager, pgn@acea.auto, +32 (0) 2 738 73 55
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About the EU automobile industry
- 13.2 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
- 10.3% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
- €383.7 billion in tax revenue for European governments
- €106.7 billion trade surplus for the European Union
- Over 7.5% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
- €72.8 billion in R&D spending annually, 33% of EU total
