Overview
- ACEA data show EU battery‑electric registrations rose 51% in December to about 217,900, narrowly topping petrol at roughly 216,500 after a 19.2% petrol decline.
- Electrified powertrains dominated December, with battery‑electric, plug‑in hybrid and hybrid models together accounting for 67% of EU registrations.
- For full‑year 2025, hybrids led with about 34.5% market share, petrol held 26.6% and battery‑electric vehicles reached roughly 17.4%, as EU registrations grew 1.8% to 10.8 million but stayed below pre‑pandemic levels.
- Competitive dynamics shifted as BYD’s European registrations surged (about +230% in December and roughly tripled for 2025) while Tesla’s EU registrations fell sharply (around −38% for the year and −20% in December).
- Policy direction is in flux after the European Commission proposed replacing a de facto 2035 combustion ban with a 90% tailpipe CO2‑reduction target, preserving room for hybrids, plug‑in hybrids and other combustion‑based solutions.