EU car sales fall 2.6% in January

Car sales fell in the European Union in January, with major markets recording significant declines. Across the bloc as a whole, there was a 2.6% decrease.

According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), car registrations fell by the same amount as they had fallen in 2024 as a whole (2.6%).

In January 2025, hybrid vehicles (HEVs) accounted for 34.9% of total sales in EU markets. This was followed by petrol-powered vehicles with 29.4%, while electric vehicles accounted for a market share of 15% (up from 10.9% in the same month last year).

At the same time, one in ten registrations corresponds to diesel vehicles, while plug-in hybrids accounted for 7.4% and the “other” category accounted for 3.3%.

This means that the weight of cars with combustion engines fell from 48.7% in January 2024 to 39.4% in January 2025.

Looking at the largest markets, there were falls of 6.2% in France, 5.8% in Italy and 2.8% in Germany. Conversely, the market grew by 5.3% in Spain.