Battery-electric cars took 22.6% of EU registrations last month, effectively level with petrol on 22.5%, as hybrids stayed dominant at about 44% of the market, according to European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) data.
The December split reflected a sharp year-on-year jump in battery-electric registrations, which rose 51% across the EU, while plug-in hybrids grew 36.7%.
Conventional hybrids (including mild hybrids) also increased, albeit more modestly, up 5.8%.
For the full year, EU new-car registrations increased 1.8% in 2025, though industry body ACEA said volumes still sat well below pre-pandemic levels.
Battery-electric cars took a 17.4% market share for the year, up from 13.6% in 2024, while hybrid-electric vehicles remained the most popular powertrain on 34.5%.
Plug-in hybrids also expanded, with registrations reaching 1,015,887 units and a 9.4% share, up from 7.2% a year earlier, according to ACEA’s figures.
Petrol and diesel continued to lose ground.
Across 2025, petrol registrations fell 18.7% to a 26.6% share, while diesel dropped 24.2% to 8.9%, pulling the combined petrol-diesel share down to 35.5% from 45.2% in 2024. In December alone, petrol fell 19.2% year on year and diesel dropped 22.4%.
