🚘 Electric cars outsold petrol cars in EU for the first time

• In December 2025, 217,898 electric cars were registered in the EU, compared to 216,492 petrol cars – the first time electric cars exceed petrol cars in sales.
• Global electric vehicle sales reached 20.7 million vehicles in 2025, an increase of 20 percent compared to the previous year.
• Europe was the fastest growing region with 33 percent growth, where Germany increased by 48 percent and the UK by 27 percent.

Historic month in December

In December 2025, 217,898 battery electric vehicles were registered in the EU. This is an increase of 51 percent compared to December 2024. At the same time, sales of petrol cars fell by 19 percent, from 267,834 to 216,492 vehicles. This means that electric cars outsold traditional petrol cars in the EU for the first time.

The figures come from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). The definition of petrol cars excludes hybrid cars that only run on petrol but have a small battery.

Electric car market share grows

Throughout 2025, electric cars reached 17.4 percent of the market in the EU. This is an increase from 13.6 percent the year before. A total of 1,880,370 new battery electric vehicles were registered during the year.

The four largest markets accounted for 62 percent of registrations. Germany increased by 43.2 percent, the Netherlands by 18.1 percent, Belgium by 12.6 percent and France by 12.5 percent.

Petrol cars lost ground in all major markets. France had the largest decline at 32 percent. Germany decreased by 21.6 percent, Italy by 18.2 percent and Spain by 16 percent. A total of 2,880,298 new petrol cars were registered in 2025. Market share fell from 33.3 percent to 26.6 percent.

Global sales exceed 20 million

According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, 20.7 million electric vehicles were sold globally in 2025. This is an increase of 20 percent compared to 2024. In December 2025, 2.1 million electric vehicles were sold worldwide.

China remained the largest market with 12.9 million electric vehicles sold, an increase of 17 percent. Europe sold 4.3 million electric vehicles and increased by 33 percent. North America sold 1.8 million electric vehicles but decreased by 4 percent. The rest of the world sold 1.7 million electric vehicles and increased by 48 percent.

Europe is the fastest growing region

Europe surpassed China as the fastest growing major region in 2025. Battery electric vehicles increased by 31 percent and plug-in hybrids by 38 percent.

Germany and the UK led the growth with increases of 48 and 27 percent respectively. France had a weak start to the year but finished with 2 percent growth overall, supported by subsidies in the final months of the year.

Several European countries expanded or increased subsidies for electric vehicle purchases during the year. France, Germany and Sweden have announced support targeted at low and middle income households.

Chinese manufacturers expand

The Chinese electric vehicle brand BYD tripled its market share in the EU. It rose from 0.7 percent in December 2024 to 1.9 percent in December 2025. BYD more than doubled its exports, from 0.4 million vehicles in 2024 to over one million in 2025.

Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles accounted for 19 percent of total electric vehicle sales in Europe in 2025.

Volkswagen retained its position as market leader in the EU with 26.7 percent of new registrations in December. Stellantis, Renault, Hyundai, Toyota and BMW followed. Tesla saw its market share in the EU fall by 37.9 percent in 2025 compared to 2024.

Rest of the world shows strong growth

Southeast Asia nearly doubled its electric vehicle sales compared to the previous year. During the last three months of 2025, an average of 55,000 electric vehicles were sold per month, compared to 32,000 per month during the same period in 2024.

South and Central America increased by 49 percent. Chinese manufacturers accounted for over 85 percent of electric vehicle sales in the region.

South Korea increased by 50 percent, driven by new models from domestic manufacturers and imported electric vehicles as well as government incentives. Japan grew by only 6 percent and has an electric vehicle penetration of 3 percent for the fourth consecutive year.

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