Europe’s car market has seen growth from 2025. In December, 963,319 vehicles were sold in the European Union, 5.8 percent more than in the previous year, as the industry association Acea announced on Tuesday. For the full year 2025, this leaves an increase of 1.8 percent to a good 10.8 million vehicles. There was an upward trend for electric cars, with almost 1.9 million vehicles sold, 29.9 percent more than a year ago. The vehicles now have a market share of 17.4 percent, which is almost four percentage points more than in the previous year.
However, according to Acea, this is not enough for the transition to be successful. Acea Secretary General Sigrid de Vries said Europe needs to improve the framework conditions, mainly the expansion of charging infrastructure, competitive electricity prices as well as reliable purchase incentives and tax breaks in all member states. “This is particularly important when you look at the CO₂ targets for 2030, because car manufacturers will then have to almost triple the proportion of electric cars in order to avoid fines.”
Hybrid cars are particularly popular
Europe is sticking with the transition Electric cars further divided. While four out of five cars sold in Denmark are now powered by electricity and around two thirds in the Netherlands, electric cars only have single-digit market shares in Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic or Hungary. Southern Europe is also lagging behind.
The most popular type of drive in the EU in 2025 was hybrid cars, which now have a market share of 34.5 percent. Gasoline or diesel cars without electrical support together only account for 35.5 percent of the market share. The success of the hybrids confirms the need for a technology-open approach to the transition, said de Vries.
The Volkswagen Group further expanded its leading position among manufacturers. The company with the brands Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Cupra and Porsche now has a market share of 27.6 percent. The Opel-Mother Stellantis, which also includes the brands Peugeot, Citroën or Fiat, slipped to 15.3 percent. In third place is Renault with 11.5 percent.
The Chinese manufacturer achieved the strongest growth BYD, which sold three times as many cars as in the previous year and is now on the same level in terms of market share as the US electric car manufacturer Tesla.