- Petrol car registrations dropped by 18.7% by the end of 2025
- EVs surpassed petrol car sales in December last year
- BYD had a particularly strong year in Europe
The latest sales figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association have revealed that battery electric vehicles outsold petrol cars in Europe for the first time in December last year, marking a milestone for the technology.
Overall, petrol cars still ruled if you factor in data from January to December 2025, with 26.6% playing 17.4% of BEV sales. But hybrid vehicles, which combine a small petrol engine with batteries and electric motors, were the overall favorite, making up 34.5% of all European sales in 2025.
Perhaps the most telling figure is that petrol car registrations dropped by 18.7%, by the end of last year, with all major markets experiencing decreases. Diesel fared even worse, with registrations down by 24.2%, resulting in a meagre 8.9% share in 2025.
This trend appears to back up recent news that some gas stations in Europe and the UK could stop selling diesel as early as 2030, as registrations of new vehicles falls through the floor.
Despite the fact that the European Union has relaxed its ban on the sale of pure petrol cars, shifting the date back from 2030 to 2035, the move towards increasing amounts of electrification is very much in motion, with Europeans buying over 300,000 EVs last month alone.
There are a number of good reasons for this. The first and most obvious being that Europeans have among the widest choice of pure electric vehicles outside of markets like China and Asia, with even the ‘legacy’ automakers now all offering everything from compact electric city cars to large, seven-seat SUVs.
Peugeot, for example, sells a pure electric version of every car and light commercial vehicle in its entire range, giving customers the simple choice of pure electric or hybrid in many models.
Secondly, alongside the rapid increase in model choice in Europe, the cost of EVs has also drastically reduced, with smaller and more affordable electric cars now on the market.
Models like the top-selling Renault 5 E-Tech, for example, start at just under £23,000 in the UK, which is the equivalent of around $32,000 / AU$45,500.
Similarly, Chinese brands like BYD, Omoda, Jaecoo and Leapmotor have all arrived on European shores offering exceptionally good deals on new EVs.
BYD, for example, saw its sales increase by an astronomical 228% in 2025, rocketing from 39,000 to 129,000 cars sold over the course of the year.
Hybrids do the heavy lifting
As most of the major automotive manufacturers pivot to an increasingly electrified line-up, buyers simply don’t have as much choice in Europe when it comes to pure petrol or diesel cars. In fact, the latter has all been removed from most model line-ups.
Instead, hybrid cars have been seen as the way to bridge the gap between fossil fuels and pure electrification, offering increased range when compared to BEVs and the ability to quickly brim a petrol tank from a traditional gas station if required.
The European sales figures for hybrid cars speak for themselves, but pure electric vehicles are rapidly catching up. What’s more, many manufacturers are pivoting towards extended-range hybrids, which see the engine act only as a generator to charge batteries, rather than drive the wheels.
This helps reduce fuel consumption and emissions, while offering a range in excess of 1,000 miles without stopping in the case of Xpeng’s formidable G7 SUV and P7+ Sedan, both of which will soon be available in Europe.
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