Sales of battery-electric cars in the European Union rose 24.3% in January to 154,230 units, lifting their share of new car registrations to 19.3%, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
The increase marks a significant rise from a 14.9% market share a year earlier, even as the overall EU car market contracted by 3.9% to 799,625 registrations. The stronger performance of electric vehicles therefore reflects both higher absolute sales and weaker demand for conventional cars.
Other electrified powertrains also expanded. Plug-in hybrid registrations climbed 28.7% to 78,741 units, while hybrid electric vehicles grew 6.2% to 308,364 units, making them the largest category with a 38.6% market share. By contrast, petrol car registrations fell 28.2% and diesel cars declined 22.3%, continuing a long-term shift away from internal combustion engines.
ACEA’s hybrid category includes a wide range of technologies, from full hybrids capable of short electric driving to mild hybrids that cannot operate on electric power alone, complicating assessments of emissions reductions.
Among the EU’s four largest electric car markets—which together account for about 60% of registrations—results were mixed. France recorded the strongest growth at 52.1%, followed by Germany with a 23.8% increase. Belgium and the Netherlands saw declines of 11.5% and 35.4%, respectively.
Germany remained the largest EU market for battery-electric vehicles with 42,692 units, ahead of France with 30,307. Outside the EU, the United Kingdom registered 29,654 electric cars, nearly unchanged from a year earlier. The Netherlands, with 7,165 units, fell behind Italy and Ireland, both of which posted strong gains.
Some smaller markets recorded rapid growth from a low base. Poland more than tripled registrations to 3,544 vehicles, while Croatia doubled sales to 138 units. Denmark and Finland each reported increases of about 52.7%.
Tesla, the only major manufacturer selling exclusively battery-electric cars, registered 7,187 vehicles in the EU in January, down 1.6% from the previous year, giving it a 0.9% market share. ACEA does not provide powertrain-specific data for multi-technology automakers.
The figures suggest that while electric vehicles continue to gain traction across Europe, adoption remains uneven between countries and sensitive to policy incentives, market conditions and consumer demand.