Battery-electric vehicle sales in the European Union grew by 34 per cent year-on-year in January, with 124,341 new registrations, according to the latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). This gives electric cars a 15 per cent market share – up from an average of 13.6 per cent in 2024 – marking a strong start to the year. When including EFTA states (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland) and the UK, total BEV sales jumped by 37 per cent to 166,065 units.

Germany saw the biggest growth among the EU’s largest EV markets, with a staggering 53.5 per cent increase in BEV registrations. The country recorded 34,498 new EVs in January – more than the UK’s 29,634 registrations – reclaiming its position as Europe’s top EV market after losing it to Britain last year. Belgium (+37.2%) and the Netherlands (+28.2%) also posted strong gains, while France remained flat, recording just a 0.5 per cent rise.

The surge in Germany follows a slump in January 2024, when the abrupt end of government EV subsidies saw registrations plummet. Throughout 2024, sales gradually stabilised, and January 2025’s figures suggest a return to normality – albeit at a significantly higher level than last year.

While EVs gained ground, the overall EU passenger car market shrank slightly in January, down 2.6 per cent. Sales of plug in hybrid models continued their downward trend, with an 8.5 per cent drop year on year, but it was pure combustion models that took the biggest hit with petrol cars down 19 per cent and diesel plummeting 27 per cent.

Which countries are leading the EV charge?

Germany topped the BEV rankings for January, followed by:
UK – 29,634 BEVs
France – 19,923 BEVs (-0.5% YoY)
Belgium – 13,712 BEVs (+37% YoY)
Netherlands – 11,157 BEVs (+37% YoY)

Denmark and Italy recorded the highest year-on-year growth, with BEV sales up by 123 per cent and 126 per cent, respectively.

Tesla sales plunge, while other brands surge

Despite the boom in BEV sales, Tesla struggled in January, with EU sales down 50 per cent to 7,517 units. While much of this can be attributed to the introduction of a facelifted Model Y which has yet to be delivered to European customers, negative sentiment surrounding Elon Musk, the brand’s controversial CEO has also likely had an impact on demand. In the UK, Tesla registrations dropped by 7.8 per cent year on year.  

Telsa will be hoping that the arrival of the facelifted Model Y will boost flagging demand in its key European markets