Skip to content
Hyundai Kona
Image Credit: Hyundai

Europe’s BEV Sales Jump 34% in January, Hybrid Sales Up 18%

Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X

Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Europe rose 34% year-on-year to 124,341 units in January 2025, accounting for 15% of total car sales. This marks an increase from the EU’s BEV market share of just under 14% in 2024.

Germany led the growth in BEV sales with a 53.5% increase, followed by Belgium (+37.2%) and the Netherlands (+28.2%), while France saw a slight decline of 0.5% — data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed on Tuesday.

The European market currently has 370 BEV models available, including 16 priced under €30,000.

Registrations of hybrid-electric vehicles in the EU climbed 18.4% to 290,014 units in January, with France (+52.2%) and Spain (+23.5%) posting the strongest gains.

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) registrations fell 8.5% to 61,406 units, driven by sharp declines in Belgium (-66.6%) and France (-54%). PHEVs now represent 7.4% of total EU car sales.

Overall, car sales in Europe fell 2.6% in January, with the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars declining to 39.4%, down from 48.7% in the same month last year. Petrol car registrations fell 18.9%.

The Dacia Sandero topped Europe’s car sales in 2024, with the Renault Clio and Volkswagen Golf ranking second and third. Meanwhile, new car registrations in the European Union grew 0.8% for the year.

Cláudio Afonso is the Founder and Editor of EV, an independent electric vehicle news publication owned by CARBA, the company he founded in early 2021. Between 2022 and 2024 he worked in European corporate communications at Nio, and he returned to lead EV in April 2024. He is based in Porto, Portugal.