Registrations of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in the European Union grew by 28.4% year-on-year in the first two months of 2025, reaching 255,489 units and capturing a 15.2% market share, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands recorded significant double-digit growth in BEV registrations, with increases of 41%, 38%, and 25%, respectively. In contrast, France, the EU’s second-largest market, saw a slight decline of 1.3% in BEV registrations.
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Despite the rising adoption of electric vehicles, total new car registrations across all drive types in the EU fell by 3% during the same period, with key markets such as Italy (-6%), Germany (-4.6%), and France (-3.3%) all reporting declines.
In February alone, BEV registrations in the EU reached 131,275 units, a 23.7% increase from the previous year. Germany led the market with 35,949 new electric cars, followed by France with 25,335. Belgium overtook the Netherlands, recording 13,040 BEV registrations (+38.9%) compared to 10,174 (+22.4%) in the Netherlands. Including the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and the United Kingdom, total BEV registrations for February stood at 164,646 units, with the UK taking third place at 21,244 units (+41.7%).
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Plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) registrations remained steady, with 72,545 units recorded in February, nearly identical to JATO Dynamics’ estimate of 72,639. Meanwhile, sales of traditional combustion engine cars continued to decline, with petrol vehicle registrations falling by 22.4% to 244,073 units and diesel registrations dropping 28.8% to 80,569 units.
Tesla, a key player in the BEV market, saw its EU registrations fall by 49% year-on-year in the first two months of 2025 to 19,046 units, reducing its market share to 1.1% from 2.1% a year earlier. The decline continued in February, with Tesla reporting 11,743 new registrations, down 47.1% compared to 2024. Smart faced an even sharper drop, with February registrations down 60.1% to just 771 vehicles, and year-to-date figures down 56.2% at 1,829 units.