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20250731 Europe: Significant Shift Away From Fossil Fuel Vehicles..
Overall EU Car Market:
As of June 2025 (Year-to-Date), the European car market is seeing a significant shift from fossil fuel vehicles towards electrified options, particularly hybrids and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).
Overall, New EU car registrations dropped by 1.9% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
Key Trends and Observations:
- Hybrids as the Preferred Choice: Hybrid-electric vehicles continue to be the most favored electrified option among EU consumers.
- Declining Diesel and Petrol: The decline in diesel sales is even more pronounced than petrol, with both segments experiencing significant year-on-year decreases.
- Growth in Major Markets for BEVs: Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands are leading in BEV registration gains, while France has seen a decline in BEV sales.
- Chinese Brands’ Impact: Chinese automakers are increasing their presence in the European EV market, with significant year-on-year growth in both BEV and PHEV sales.
Fossil v Electric Vehicle Sales Comparison:
Sales of Fossil Fuel Cars (Petrol and Diesel):
- Declining Market Share: The combined market share of petrol and diesel cars has fallen to 37.8% (down from 48.2% in the same period of 2024).1 This indicates a substantial decrease in their popularity.
- Reduced Registrations:
- Petrol car registrations declined by 21.2% year-on-year. Their market share dropped to 28.4% (from 35.4%).
- Diesel car registrations declined by 28.1% year-on-year, resulting in a 9.4% market share.
- Significant Volume Loss: Overall, registrations for internal combustion engine (ICE) models are down 23% year-on-year, representing a deficit of over 630,000 units.
- Petrol and Diesel sales. All major European markets experienced double-digit declines.
Sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs):
- Growing Market Share: The market share for electrified vehicles (BEVs, Plug-in Hybrids, and Hybrids) continues to expand.
- Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs): Accounted for 15.6% of the total EU market share, an increase from 12.5% in H1 2024. New BEV sales reached 869,271 units.
- Hybrid-Electric Vehicles (HEVs – including full and mild hybrids): Remain the most popular power type, capturing 34.8% of the market with 1,942,762 units registered.
- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs): Represent 8.4% of total car registrations, up from 6.9% in June 2024 YTD. Registrations reached 469,410 units.
- Strong Sales Growth:
- BEV sales in Europe surged by 30.5% in EFTA countries and 34.6% in the UK in H1 2025.
- PHEV registrations recorded a strong 41.6% increase year-on-year.
- Hybrid-electric car registrations saw a rise of 6.1% year-on-year in June 2025, contributing to a 20.8% increase year-to-date.
BEV – H1 2025 Market Highlights
Total BEVs Sold (EU+EFTA+UK)
1.19M
BEV Growth vs. H1 2024
+24.9%
BEV Total Market Share
17%
Fossil Sales
Petrol -21% Diesel -28%
In summary,
while the overall European car market is slightly down year-to-date in 2025, there’s a clear and accelerating trend away from traditional fossil fuel vehicles towards electric and hybrid alternatives. EVs, particularly BEVs and HEVs, are gaining substantial market share, driven by consumer preference and supportive policies, despite some market-specific fluctuations.
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