EU Electric Vehicle Market Share projected for 2025: 15.6%
The European Union (EU) automotive market underwent significant changes during the first half of 2025, with a shift towards electrification becoming increasingly apparent.
Hybrid vehicles, specifically plug-in hybrids, maintained their dominance as the most popular powertrain, accounting for 34.8% of the EU market share. Registrations rose by 16% to 1,942,762 units, reflecting sustained consumer preference for hybrids over full electrification so far. Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands saw increases in battery electric vehicle registrations, with Germany experiencing a remarkable 35.1% rise despite lacking private buyer subsidies.
By June 2025, pure electric vehicles held a market share of 15.6%, up from 12.5% in H1 2024. This corresponded to 869,271 new EV registrations, a 22% increase year-on-year. However, growth was uneven across countries, with France showing a decline of 6.4%.
Plug-in hybrids, on the other hand, maintained robust growth, rising 19.5% to achieve 469,410 new registrations and holding an 8.4% market share. Germany and Spain were key drivers, with increases of 55.1% and 82.5%, respectively.
In contrast, traditional fuel vehicles faced significant declines. Petrol vehicle registrations dropped by 21.7%, reducing their market share to 28.4%. Diesel registrations performed worse with a 27.5% drop, lowering their market share to 9.4%. This shrinking trend is consistent across most European markets, signalling an ongoing structural shift away from internal combustion engine vehicles.
The overall car registration volume in the EU decreased by about 1.9% in H1 2025, reflecting a challenging economic environment and the transition stresses in the automotive sector. The decline was particularly pronounced in France (-33.7%), followed by Germany (-27.8%), Italy (-17.2%), and Spain (-13.4%) for petrol vehicles.
It's worth noting that Chinese EV brands like BYD are gaining market share rapidly in Europe, nearly matching Tesla in monthly registrations by May 2025. This development may influence future market dynamics, especially in the EV segment.
In June 2025 alone, the year-on-year decreases were 25.4% for petrol and 34.1% for diesel vehicles. Plug-in hybrids showed strong growth for the fourth consecutive month in June, with a plus of 41.6%. June figures for battery electric vehicle registrations showed only a modest increase of 7.8% year-on-year. Plug-in hybrids reached a volume of 469,410 new registrations in the first half of 2025, while petrol new registrations fell by 21.2%.
In conclusion, the first half of 2025 shows a continuing move towards electrification in the EU, with hybrids maintaining a strong foothold and full-electric vehicles gaining significant traction. Traditional petrol and diesel vehicle sales are contracting sharply, contributing to an overall modest decline in total vehicle registrations. The rise of Chinese EV brands could further accelerate this trend.
- The EU finance sector witnessed an increased investment in the automotive industry, as the shift towards electrification in transportation became more prominent during the first half of 2025.
- Technological advancements in the automotive sector, particularly in the development of hybrid vehicles, received substantial support from the financial industry, contributing to their robust growth in the EU market.
- Despite the significant growth in the EU market share of pure electric vehicles during the first half of 2025, hybrid vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, continued to attract financing due to their sustained popularity among consumers, which can potentially influence predictions in the finance sector for the second half of the year.
