Europe’s new car registrations post biggest rise since October 2023 on EV demand

New car registrations across Europe rose 13.1% year-on-year in June to more than 1.4 million units, driven by accelerating demand for electric and hybrid vehicles, according to data released Thursday.

Registrations in the EU, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, and the UK totaled 1.41 million, up from 1.24 million in June 2025, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association showed.

In the EU alone, registrations increased 13.6% to nearly 1.15 million units. Germany, the bloc’s largest car market, posted a 15.7% rise, followed by France with 11.4%, Italy with 10.6%, and Spain with 7.8%.

Battery-electric vehicle registrations across the broader European market jumped 51% to 360,843 units in June, while plug-in hybrid registrations climbed 22.7% to 146,168.

Registrations of hybrid-electric vehicles, including full and mild hybrids, rose 17.1% to 488,640 units. Fully electric and plug-in hybrid models together accounted for more than 36% of all new registrations.

Meanwhile, petrol-powered car registrations fell 12.2%, while diesel registrations declined 16.9%.

In the EU, battery-electric registrations surged 60.7% in June. France recorded a 93.5% increase, Italy 86.6%, Germany 78.2%, and Spain 26.5%.

During the first half of this year, EU car registrations rose 5.7% to nearly 5.9 million units. Across the EU, EFTA, and the UK, registrations increased 6.1% to 7.23 million.

Battery-electric cars secured a 20.7% share of the EU market in the January-June period, up from 15.6% a year earlier. Hybrid-electric cars remained the most popular powertrain, accounting for 37.3%, while plug-in hybrids held a 9.8% share.

The combined share of petrol and diesel cars dropped to 29.7% from 37.8% a year earlier. Petrol registrations declined 17.2% during the period, while diesel registrations fell 16.5%.

Among manufacturers, Volkswagen Group registrations in the EU rose 7.3% in June, while Stellantis posted a 7.1% increase. BMW Group registrations climbed 16.1%, Mercedes-Benz gained 4.8%, and Renault Group rose 3.6%.

Chinese automakers continued to expand rapidly. BYD registrations nearly tripled from a year earlier, rising 199.3% to 30,791 units in June, while SAIC Motor registrations increased 50.7% to 27,048.

Chery registrations jumped 271% to 18,864 units, while Leapmotor posted an almost sixfold increase to 10,430.