New EU car registrations for the first seven months of 2025 slipped by 0.7% year-to-date (YTD) compared to the same period last year, despite a strong 7.4% year-on-year (YOY) increase in July. The latest figures highlight diverging trends across power sources, with electric and hybrid vehicles gaining momentum while petrol and diesel continue to decline.
Electric Vehicle Growth
Between January and July 2025, 1,011,903 new battery-electric cars were registered, giving them a 15.6% share of the EU market, up from 12.5% in the same period last year. Growth was driven by three of the EU’s four largest markets: Germany (+38.4%), Belgium (+17.6%), and the Netherlands (+6.5%). France, however, posted a 4.3% decline, despite recording a 14.8% YOY increase in July alone.
Hybrid-electric cars continued their upward trajectory, reaching 2,255,080 registrations and accounting for 34.7% of the EU market. France (+30.5%), Spain (+30.2%), Germany (+10.7%), and Italy (+9.4%) led the surge in hybrid demand.
Plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) also saw significant gains, with registrations rising to 561,190 units and capturing 8.6% of the market, up from 6.9% in 2024. Spain (+94.5%), Germany (+59.2%), and Italy (+60.3%) reported the strongest increases. July marked the fifth consecutive month of double-digit growth for PHEVs, with a 56.9% YOY rise.
Petrol and Diesel Decline
Conventional fuel vehicles continued to lose ground. Petrol car registrations fell by 20.1% YTD, totaling 1,834,375 units and reducing their market share to 28.3%, down from 35.1% last year. France saw the sharpest fall (-33.6%), followed by Germany (-25.9%), Italy (-17.8%), and Spain (-12.6%).
Diesel vehicles posted an even steeper decline of 26.4%, shrinking to a 9.5% market share. YOY data for July also showed continued declines, with petrol down 12% and diesel down 15.2%.
Market Outlook
While overall registrations remain slightly below last year’s levels, the strong performance of electric and hybrid vehicles underscores the EU’s ongoing transition to low-emission mobility. Industry analysts note that battery-electric and hybrid cars are on track to further expand their dominance, while petrol and diesel models continue to lose relevance in the European market.
