New energy vehicles — which include both fully electric and hybrid models — accounted for more than half of the European car market sales in the first quarter, according to data released on Thursday by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
In the first three months of the year, the market share of battery electric vehicles (BEV) jumped 25% from a year ago to 15.2%. Hybrid models (HEV) captured 35.5% while plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) held 7.6% of the registrations.
Hybrid vehicles are still the most popular choice for European consumers, with a combined market share of over 40%. Petrol and diesel cars continued to lose ground with their market share falling to 38%.
Overall, new car registrations declined nearly 2% compared to the same period last year.
EV Adoption
In the first quarter, BEV sales grew 23.9%, reaching 412,997 units. 63% of new registrations for fully electric vehicles were in countries like Germany (39%), Belgium (30%) or the Netherlands (8%).
Sales of hybrid models rose 20.7% in the past three months with a total of 964,108 units. France recorded nearly 48% market share of HEVs, while Spain’s registrations for hybrid cars reached 37%. In Germany, the largest car market in Europe and where BEV sales grew the most, hybrid model sales rose 11%.
On the contrary, registrations for plug-in hybrids only saw an increase of 1.1%, nevertheless representing a total of 207,048 units. PHEVs represent 7.6% of total car registrations in the European Union, up from 7.4% year over year.
March data revealed by the ACEA showed that sales of BEVs rose by 17%, while hybrid electric vehicles HEVs saw a 23% jump. PHEVs also saw a 14% rise in sales.
Sales by Brand
The Volkswagen Group was the best-selling carmaker in Europe, including the EU, EFTA countries and the UK. Over 1 in 4 cars sold across the continent were from its brands, which registered nearly 876,000 units.
Stellantis represented 15.5% of the market, with more than 525,000 cars sold.
When it comes to brands that develop only fully electric vehicles, Tesla sold over 54,000 EVs, 1.6% of the new car registrations in the past three months.
The brand saw a sharp decline of over 37% in sales compared to 2024. In Germany, the U.S. brand’s registrations plunged 62% during the first quarter.
The figures are linked to the refresh of its Model Y, reputational damage from Elon Musk’s political involvement and rising competition from Chinese, European and Korean brands.
