Growth of Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in the First Quarter of 2025.

Growth of Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in the First Quarter of 2025

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has published data on new car registrations for the first quarter of 2025. The data, which was also shared with the Serbian Association of Vehicle Importers, confirmed the expectations and forecasts of analysts who had warned that the complex global economic situation would significantly impact the European automotive industry.

In the first three months of this year, new car registrations in the EU fell by 1.9% compared to the same period last year. A total of 2,715,008 cars were sold, which is 53,974 fewer than in Q1 2024, when 2,768,982 cars were sold.

Interestingly, when including newly registered vehicles from EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland) and the United Kingdom, the results are slightly better. The market decline is 0.4%, with a total of 3,382,057 units sold. This improved result is primarily due to the United Kingdom, which recorded 580,502 newly registered vehicles in Q1 2025, a 6.4% year-over-year increase.

Germany, on the other hand, recorded a market drop of 4.3%, with 664,571 cars sold. France had an even worse outcome—a 7.8% market decline, with 410,085 new cars purchased. Italians bought 444,052 new cars, but this was still a decrease of 1.6%.

Spain notably softened the overall EU sales drop, posting an exceptional 14.1% increase in new car sales during this period (279,368 units).

Let’s look at some countries from our region:
Croatia also experienced a sales drop of 1.9% (15,143 units), Hungary saw a 3.8% increase (32,899 units), Bulgaria was up by 0.9% (11,608 units), and Slovenia recorded a 4.9% rise (14,672 units).

New Car Registrations in the EU by Power Source

Electric Vehicles

In the first quarter of 2025, new electric vehicle sales rose by 23.9% to 412,997 units, making up 15.2% of the total EU market share.

Three of the four largest EU markets, which together account for 63% of all EV registrations, recorded strong growth: Germany (+38.9%), Belgium (+29.9%), and the Netherlands (+7.9%). This contrasts with France, which saw a decline of 6.6%.

In the UK, electric vehicle sales grew by a substantial 42.6%, with 120,191 units sold. Looking at EFTA countries, it’s clear that electric cars are becoming the norm. Iceland saw an astonishing 128.7% sales increase, with 956 vehicles sold (a significant number given the population and challenging climate). Norway recorded a 47% rise (28,623 units), and Switzerland saw a 3.0% increase (10,733 units).

In total, 573,500 electric vehicles were sold across Europe in Q1 2025—an increase of 28.1%.

Hybrid Vehicles

Data for Q1 2025 also shows an increase in hybrid vehicle registrations in the EU by 20.7%, driven by significant growth in the four largest markets:
France (+47.5%), Spain (+36.6%), Italy (+15.3%), and Germany (+10.5%).

This resulted in 964,108 registered hybrid units, accounting for 35.5% of the EU market share.

Plug-in Hybrids

Plug-in hybrid vehicle registrations rose by 1.1% in Q1 2025, with a total of 207,048 units. This growth was mainly driven by major markets like Germany (+41.8%) and Spain (+30.7%). As a result, plug-in hybrids represented 7.6% of total car registrations in the EU, compared to 7.4% in the same period of 2024.

Petrol Cars
By the end of Q1 2025, petrol car registrations saw a significant decline of 20.6%, with all major markets posting decreases.
The largest drop was in France (-34.1%), followed by Germany (-26.6%), Italy (-15.8%), and Spain (-9.5%).

With 779,817 new petrol cars registered so far, the market share fell to 28.7%, down from 35.5% in the same period last year.

Diesel Cars
Similarly, the diesel car market dropped by 27.1%, resulting in a market share of 9.5% this quarter.
A double-digit decrease was noted across most EU markets. A total of 258,728 diesel cars were sold (compared to 354,755 in the same period last year).

Source: ACEA
Photo: Freepik