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Hybrid-electric cars accounted for 34.7% of new car registrations in Europe in the first eight months of 2025, driven by 30% growth in France and 29.3% in Spain, new data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has found.
The surge in registrations for hybrid electric cars (HEVs) during the period means that HEVs are close to eclipsing registrations of petrol and diesel cars, which combined accounted for 37.5% of new car registrations in the period, a 47.6% decline on the same period in 2024.
Battery electric cars (BEVs) accounted for 15.8% of EU market share in the period, with three of the four largest markets – which together account for 62% of BEV registrations – seeing gains: Germany (+39.2%), Belgium (+14.4%), and the Netherlands (+5.1%).
France, however, saw a decline of 2%, despite a 29.3% year-on-year increase in BEV registrations in August 2025.
Plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) accounted for 8.8% of new car registrations over the period, up from 6.9% in the corresponding period a year ago. Spain (+99.9%), Germany (+61.2%) and Italy (+62.6%) saw the biggest increases in PHEV registrations.
Petrol car registrations declined by 19.7% year-on-year, with all major markets seeing decreases – France saw petrol registrations fall 33.5%, followed by Germany (-25.2%), Italy (-17.6%), and Spain (-13.1%). Petrol cars accounted for 28.1% of new car registrations during the period.
The diesel car market declined by 25.7% over the same period, with diesel cars accounting for 9.4% of new car registrations.
‘By August 2025 year-to-date (YTD), new EU car registrations edged down by 0.1% compared to the same period last year, despite marking a second consecutive month of positive growth,’ the ACEA said ‘The battery-electric car market share for August 2025 YTD held at 15.8%, still below the pace needed at this stage of the transition. Hybrid-electric car market remained the most popular power type amongst buyers.’
Overall, new car registrations were down 0.1% in the year to the end of August, despite two consecutive months of positive growth. Read more here.
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