2025 (January): new passenger vehicle registrations in Europe (EU, EFTA, UK) contracted but electric car sales were stronger to gain market share.
In January 2025, new passenger car sales in Europe (European Union, EFTA, and Britain) were down to just fewer than a million vehicles. Battery-electric vehicle sales increased by nearly 40% despite a dismal performance by Tesla. Volkswagen and Toyota remained the two largest car brands in Europe. The Dacia Sandero and VW Golf were the top-selling car models while the Volkswagen ID.4 and Tesla Model Y were the favorite battery-electric car models in Europe in January 2025.
Latest European Car Market Statistics: 2025: January, February; 2024 (Full Year): Market, By Country, Electric, Brands, Top 50 Models, Top 20 Electric Models; 2023-2007.
European New Car Market in 2025 (January)
It was a weak start to the year for the European automobile industry with new passenger vehicle registrations down 1.9% to 993,068 cars compared to 1,011,281 cars in January 2024 and 907,000 cars in January 2023.
Internal combustion engine cars (ICEs) and plug-in hybrids experienced the biggest drop in volumes, with registrations decreasing by 10% and 6% respectively. In contrast, more than 166,000 units of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in Europe in January 2025 – a year-on-year increase of 38%.
Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: “The market saw significant year-on-year growth in December 2024, largely due to the implementation of incentives and last-minute deals towards the end of the year. The removal of these has contributed to the decline in the number of passenger car registrations.”
Electric car sales in January 2024 were particularly weak, at least in part due to unexpected changes in German subsidies at the end of 2023. Electric car sales are expected to remain relatively weak in Germany at the beginning of 2025 while buyers wait to see if a new federal government will introduce new incentives.
Weak Tesla Sales in Europe Despite Higher Electric Car Sales in January 2025
Despite BEVs reporting strong results in January on the whole, Tesla registered only 9,913 units – a year-on-year decline of 45%. This can largely be attributed to the upcoming model changeover of the Model Y, alongside its owner’s increased involvement in mainstream politics.
Munoz commented: “The solid performance of BEVs is particularly impressive given the significant dip in sales that Tesla experienced in January. It’s not unusual for sales to drop just before a new generation or an updated model is introduced to the market, as the brand reduces the production of the existing model in anticipation of the new release. This is likely to be what Tesla is experiencing before it rolls out the refreshed version of the Model Y, after which it can expect to see sales pick up again.”
Although not brand new to the market, Tesla’s Model Y was Europe’s best-selling car in 2023 and the fourth best-seller in 2024. The latest version of Tesla’s Model 3 was released in late 2023 and recorded a 44% decline in registrations in January 2025. Munoz added: “The performance of both the Model 3 and Model Y is an indication of the declining popularity of Tesla in Europe overall.”
Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in January 2025
The best-selling car brands in Europe in January 2025 according to JATO were:
Volkswagen Group and Renault Group held the biggest market share gain in January. Volkswagen Group secured a 26.7% share of the market, registering almost 265,000 units – a year-on-year increase of 5%. Renault also performed well, registering 98,800 units – up by 7%. By contrast, Stellantis registered 154,100 units in January, resulting in a 16% decline in volume.
Volkswagen’s volumes rose by 17%, and its strong monthly performance can be largely attributed to the success of its SUV models and the Volkswagen ID.7. In contrast, Toyota sales were 10% weaker while BMW, Skoda, and Peugeot sales were down roughly in line with the broader market.
The Volkswagen Group’s Cupra brand outpaced its sister brand Seat with registrations increasing by 48% driven by the popularity of the Terramar, Tavascan, Leon, and Born. Alongside this, Renault’s volume increased by 20% due to its solid SUV line-up, which grew by 48%. 4,000 units of the Renault 5 were registered alone.
The worst-performing brands were Tesla, Opel / Vauxhall, and Fiat. All Stellantis brands had a weak start to the sales year in Europe in 2025.
Chinese Car Brands Gained Market Share in Europe in January 2025
Chinese car brands continued to gain sales in Europe with sales in January 2025 up by 52% to 37,134 cars. The market share increased from 2.4% to 3.7%. Combined sales would be equal to the 12th largest brand in Europe and ahead of Ford.
The segment that drove the most growth for Chinese brands in Europe in 2025 was hybrid models (HEVs). The imposition of tariffs on Chinese BEVs by the European Commission has sparked some Chinese car manufacturers to focus their efforts on other powertrains, including hybrids, to overcome these. As a result, almost 7,500 HEVs registered in Europe in January were from Chinese brands, accounting for 6.1% of the total HEV market. Plug-in hybrid models (PHEVs) made by Chinese brands also experienced year-on-year growth, with 4,035 units registered in January, compared to 1,276 during the same month in 2024.
Best-Selling Car Models in Europe in 2025 (January)
The 25 best-selling car models in Europe in January 2025 according to JATO were:
Despite experiencing a 15% decline in registrations in January, the Dacia Sandero again led the model ranking — it was the top-selling car model in Europe in full-year 2024. The Volkswagen Golf followed in second place – the same position it occupied in January 2024.
Of the top 10 best-selling vehicles in January, four new models featured that had not landed in the ranking in January 2024. These were the Dacia Duster (+20%); Volkswagen Tiguan (+45%); Fiat Panda (+10%); and Opel/Vauxhall Corsa (+10%), which replaced the Skoda Octavia (-17%); Peugeot 2008 (-10%); Renault Clio (-3%); and Kia Sportage (-15%).
The best-selling car models in Europe in January 2025 remained largely petrol-engined vehicles:
The models that experienced the largest volume increases among the top 50 most-registered vehicles were the Volkswagen ID.7, Volkswagen ID.4, Kia Picanto, Volkswagen Tiguan, Skoda Kodiaq, Volkswagen T-Cross, Peugeot 3008, MG ZS, Dacia Duster and BMW X1. In contrast, the Tesla Model Y, Peugeot 308, Audi A3, Mini Cooper, Toyota Corolla, Dacia Jogger, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Puma, BMW Series 1, and Ford Kuga were the models that experienced the most significant decreases in volume among the top 50 most-registered vehicles.
Best-Selling Electric Car Models in Europe in January 2025
The ten best-selling electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid car models in Europe in January 2025 were:
The Volkswagen ID4 was the top-selling electric car model in Europe in January 2025 with sales almost tripling from a very weak January 2024. Sales of the ID3 were similarly much improved. The ID7 also sold well although the percentage increase is a reflection of low availability a year ago. The car model mostly keenly watched in the coming months is likely to be the Renault 5.
The Tesla Model Y slipped to second with sales sharply down. A model change is on the cars but sales of the Model 3 were similarly weaker by 44%. Tesla deliveries often change dramatically in individual months so it will take a bit longer to determine if the weaker sales are permanent and to what extent political factors are involved.
Europe Car Sales Statistics
→ Latest European Car Sales Statistics
- 2025 Market Analysis: January, February
- 2025 (Outlook) Europe: Car and Electric Car Sales Forecasts
- 2024 (Full Year): Market Analysis, Car Sales by Country, Electric Sales by Country, Best-Selling Brands, Top 50 Models, Top 20 Electric Models
- 2024: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
- Full-Year 2023: Car Sales by Country, Brands, Top 50 Models, Top 20 Electric Car Models
