European car registrations have dropped by 0.7% in July 2025 year-to-date as the automotive industry experiences a seismic shift with battery-electric vehicles taking off to command 15.6% market share. Tesla Model Y is unstoppably the best-selling EV in Europe, with 34.7 percent being the most popular powertrain option on the continent, and hybrid-electric models dominate market share.
How Tesla keeps its iron hand in the European EV dominance
In the first six months of 2025, Tesla could still lead the front of the BEV market in Europe with the Model Y crossover and the Model 3 sedan taking the first and second positions, respectively, according to Autovista24. They also became the overall best-selling EV models in Europe in the first half of the year and proved that Tesla remains on top despite rising competition.
Tesla Model Y registered 69,223 units between January and June, which is a figure more than 29,000 above its sibling and has a market share of 5.8 percent. In the meantime, Tesla was able to ship 40,100 new Tesla Model 3s to customers, which is equivalent to 3.3 percent market share in the already competitive European market.
VW ID.4 fell to the third place with sales of 39,881, by only 219 units under the Tesla Model 3. The total Renault 5 and Alpine A290 sales advanced two steps to the fourth place with 38,608 vehicles sold in the first six months of the year, demonstrating the will of European manufacturers to regain the leadership in the market.
Revolutionary market transformation destroys traditional powertrains
According to ACEA data, in July 2025, year-to-date, the number of new car registrations in the EU decreased by 0.7 percent, as compared to the same month the previous year. Nonetheless, this fall covers a radical change in consumer preferences with battery-electric vehicles gaining 15.6% of the EU market share, which is significantly higher than the 12.5% low point in July 2024.
The number of hybrid-electric car registrations keeps increasing, now being 34.7 percent of the market and being the favorite among EU consumers. Meanwhile, the total market share in petrol and diesel cars amounted to 37.7, which is lower than the 47.9 in 2024, a disastrous downturn of the traditional combustion-based cars.
How Germany is turning the electric vehicle revolution in Europe
The highest number of BEVs and PHEV sales in Europe was recorded in the first six months of 2025 in Germany, with a share of 20.6% of the total volumes of all-electric and 23.3% of plug-in hybrids delivered. The UK was next with an 18.7% and 18% share of the BEV and PHEV markets, respectively, showing high adoption across major European markets.
Plug-in hybrid landscape is changing with explosive growth
In 2025, the total number of new battery-electric cars registered was 1,011,903 during the first seven months of 2025, and the total number of new EU hybrid-electric cars registered was 2,255,080 units. Three of the four largest markets that comprised more than 60 percent of battery-electric car registrations experienced an increase: Germany ( +38.4 percent), Belgium ( +17.6 percent), and the Netherlands ( +6.5 percent).
Plug-in-hybrid electric car registrations have increased to 561,190, as Sweden ( +94.5% ) and Germany ( +59.2% ), and other key markets continue to post growth. The July 2025 year-on-year change indicated an increase of 39.1 percent in battery-electric and 14.3 percent in hybrid-electric vehicles, and 56.9 percent in plug-in-hybrid electric cars had experienced a fifth straight month of impressive growth.
Another force that is causing an entire change in the European automotive market is the rise of electric cars to mainstream use and the impending demise of traditional powertrains. As battery-electric vehicles enter 15.6% market share and hybrids rule 34.7% market share, the industry is at an inflexion point in history. Tesla has an increasing competition with the European automakers, and the failure of the petrol and diesel sales is the key piece of evidence of the inevitable transition to electrification.