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September marked a third consecutive month of growth for the EU new-car market, with just three nations recording registration declines. However, as the end of the year approaches, is the overall picture as good as it seems? Autovista24 web editor James Roberts finds out.
A total of 888,672 new cars were delivered across the EU in September, according to the latest figures from ACEA. This equated to a year-on-year growth of 10% for the region.
This marked the third consecutive month of growth for the bloc, with an increase of 80,763 units, compared with September 2024. It also signalled the largest year-on-year percentage increase of the year so far. However, the month’s volume result was still lower than in March, June, May, April, and July.
Of the 27 EU nations, an impressive 24 recorded new-car market growth in September. Bulgaria registered the largest absolute registration increase, up 51.6% year on year. Estonia continued to see the greatest monthly fall, hitting a decline of 44.5%.
Looking at the EU’s largest markets, all four ended September positively. Spain continued to be the stand-out performer with a 16.4% gain, while Germany also enjoyed double-digit increases at 12.8%. Following a year of stagnation, Italy signalled a 4.2% boost, while France dipped into the black with a 1% year-on-year improvement.
Assessing new-car registrations across the first three quarters of the year, the EU recorded growth of 0.9%, reaching 8,057,335 deliveries. On a country level, Spain basked in a 14.8% new-car registrations upswing in the nine months. This was the result of a boost in electric vehicle (EV) sales. However, it was not all good news for all the major markets.
Despite recent improvements, Germany, the EU’s largest new-car market, saw a marginal decline of 0.3%. Italy’s new-car market malaise weighed its market down 2.9%. Meanwhile, France continued to lag by 6.3% compared with the first nine months of 2024.
Across the EU, EVs, consisting of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), captured 29.1% of the overall market in September. This meant a year-on-year increase of 5 percentage points (pp). The 258,734 units registered marked the second-highest volume so far this year.
Spanning the first nine months of the year, EVs accounted for just over a quarter of all EU new-car sales. In total, 2,023,102 vehicles took to the region’s roads. This equated to a 25.1% share, 5.1pp up on the same period in 2024.
Breaking down the overall EV volumes, 167,586 new BEVs reached EU customers in September. This ensured an 18.9% market share, up 1.6pp year on year.
Compared with the first nine months of 2025, the BEV share stood at 16.1%, underlining a 3pp year-on-year climb. This was thanks to 1,300,188 all-electric units registered. Despite these gains, ACEA outlined that EV adoption remains below the pace required at this stage of the transition.
Across the 27 EU member states, 21 witnessed year-on-year BEV registration gains. Spain, Germany, and Italy all enjoyed strong growth in BEV deliveries. Between January and September, Germany led the charge with 383,202 units, etching out a 38.3% year-on-year increase.
A smaller volume of 72,062 and an 89.6% share ensured Spain continued to see BEV growth. This amounted to an 89.6% upswing. Italy shifted 61,055 new BEVs across the period, ensuring a 26.6% increase. In contrast, France slipped slightly by 0.2%, despite posting an 11.2% year-on-year increase in September 2025.
What about markets where BEVs command a leading market share? In the year to date, Belgium and the Netherlands saw BEV registration growth of 12.4% and 3.9%, respectively. Portugal also kept up its notable BEV adoption trend with a 26.3% gain.
EV sales in Poland continued to soar as well. A third month of triple-digit BEV increases culminated in a 195.6% year-on-year boost in September. In the year to date, all-electric car sales were up by 106.7%. PHEVs have also seen success, with deliveries up by 160.6% in September and 96.9% in the year to date.
Significant EV adoption is reflected in the opening nine months of 2025. Longer-term triple-digit increases of BEV and PHEV registrations have been enabled by Poland’s NaszEauto incentives programme. It offers incentives, such as tax relief and scrappage rewards for older internal-combustion engine (ICE) cars, encouraging the EV shift.
PHEVs accounted for 10.3% of the EU new-car market in September, a 3.5pp rise year on year. This was underpinned by a year-on-year upswing of 65.4%, amounting to 30,8037 vehicles.
Between January and September, 722,914 new PHEVs joined the EU car parc. This marked a 31.1% year-on-year ascent, ensuring the powertrain captured 9% of the overall market. This forged a 2.1pp increase, continuing a trend established from March onwards.
Of the EU member states, two of the three Baltic States continued to stand out. In September, Latvia saw a 206.7% year-on-year leap in PHEV registrations. This reflects the country’s PHEV adoption, with registration up 363.8% across the first nine months of the year. Despite the nation’s small market volume, this equated to a noticeable leap from 447 units to 2,073.
Similarly, neighbouring Lithuania’s PHEV growth has regularly hit triple digits this year. September saw 431 PHEVs join the nation’s roads, a 156.5% boost. This is underpinned by a 170.7% upswing across the first nine months of the year.
Hybrids, including both mild and full versions, remained top of the pile across the EU in September. Seen by many as a gateway to full electrification, the powertrain captured 34.7% of the EU new-car market, with 308,037 units reaching customers.
Of the 27 EU member states, 23 saw year-on-year hybrid registration figures grow. The enduring popularity of hybrid vehicles is underlined by the market share increasing 1.8pp year on year.
Across the first eight months of 2025, hybrids commanded 34.7% of the overall EU new-car market, a 4.6pp year-on-year gain. However, this share has been dipping since March this year. This could suggest that the tide is turning towards BEV and PHEV purchases, albeit gradually.
This performance helped drive electrified registrations. Nearly 60% of all new-car registrations were a hybrid, BEV or PHEV in the first nine months of 2025. This meant electrified sales totalled 4,816,181 units, a 20.4% increase year on year.
New ICE registrations continued to decline across the EU in September. However, the powertrain category’s overall market share remained prominent at 33%.
Petrol car registrations fell by 18.7% between January and September, with 22 markets recording declines. 2,234,058 new petrol cars were registered, reducing the fuel’s market share to 27.7%, down from 34.4% during the same period last year.
France saw one of the sharpest drops at 32.8%, followed by Germany, down 23.5%. Italy’s petrol deliveries slumped 16.6%, and Spain’s registrations of the fuel type dropped by 13.2%. Of the five EU member states to register petrol registration gains, Latvia saw the highest growth at 32.6%.
In the year to date, the diesel segment fell by 24.7%, bringing its share to 9.3%, down 3.1pp year on year. Notable declines occurred in Estonia, down 63.7%, with Greece sliding 55.6%. Of the larger markets, Germany witnessed diesel deliveries drop by 18.9%.
Three quarters into 2025, combined petrol and diesel registrations accounted for 37% of the EU new-car market, equating to a 9.8pp dive. Despite this sizeable drop, the ICE market share has fluctuated just 2.4pp since January. This is fuelling concerns that despite EV growth, the resilience of ICE is slowing the move towards zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
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