Electric vehicles (EVs) are outselling petrol cars in Europe for the first time, as Chinese brands such as BYD make an aggressive push into the Continent.
A total of 217,900 electric cars were sold across the European Union (EU) in December, compared to 216,500 petrol cars, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
That represented market shares of 22.6pc and 22.5pc respectively. Electric car sales were up 51pc compared to December last year, with petrol sales down 19.2pc, according to the figures.
It comes despite recent moves by the trading bloc to water down emissions rules that would have mandated higher EV sales in the 2030s, amid fears the regulations threaten to crush domestic German and French automotive manufacturers.
Carmakers are also facing intense competition from Chinese rivals and the continued imposition of tariffs by the US on cars they ship across the Atlantic.
The ACEA figures showed Chinese brands continued to make substantial gains in the European market last year, with BYD more than doubling its December sales alone to 18,000.
However, on an annual basis EVs remained behind petrol cars. According to ACEA, EVs accounted for 17.4pc of sales across the whole of 2025 compared to 26.6pc for petrol.
The industry body also warned that overall sales volumes of all car types – including hybrids and diesel – were weak and remained “below pre-pandemic levels”. Sales edged up in 2025 by 1.8pc to 10.8 million.
Chris Heron, of E-Mobility Europe, said: “Electric cars overtaking petrol shows the transition is working. New incentives and more EU-made models in 2026 will strengthen that momentum.
“Europe’s market doesn’t need further regulatory loosening. It needs stability and conviction.”
Mr Heron added: “Any further steps back from the 2035 goal would undermine consumer confidence at precisely the wrong moment.”
Matthias Schmidt, an independent automotive analyst, said fewer petrol sales partly reflect reclassification of some as “mild hybrids”, which only modestly contribute to lowering emissions.
It was not clear how many cars had been reclassified in the latest figures, but sales of hybrids rose from 307,000 to about 324,800 in December.
Mr Schmidt told Reuters: “It will still ​take around half a decade before pure electric cars genuinely overtake combustion-engine models across the region, but this is nonetheless a start.”
Nearly 14 million people work in the EU automotive sector, representing 8pc of all manufacturing jobs across the 27-member trading bloc.