EU: EVs pull ahead of petrol cars for first time in December

Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations eked out a lead on petrol car sales in the EU for the first time ever in December, capturing 22.6% market share against 22.5% and marking the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth. The milestone came despite falling demand for industry pioneer Tesla’s model lineup and growing pressure from European automakers to soften emissions regulations. 

According to data released Tuesday by automotive industry body ACEA, BEV sales surged 51% year-on-year in December to 217,900 units while petrol car registrations declined 19.2% to just 216,500. Even as market volumes continue to run markedly short of pre-pandemic levels—and worries over the higher sticker prices and limited charging infrastructure associated with BEVs persist unabated—consumer preferences have shown an appreciable shift. 

For full-year 2025 BEVs do still come up short, accounting for 17% of EU sales compared to petrol’s 26.6%, with total new car registrations rising just 1.8% to 10.8 million units. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles cumulatively contributed an additional 50% toward registrations in December, meaning that new energy powertrains collectively represented 67% of the bloc’s monthly sales.

Part of the surge can be attributed to the growing presence of Chinese automakers, which represented fully one-tenth of all new cars sold across the bloc during December. BYD registrations surged 229.7% year-over-year in the month, bringing its total regional sales for the year to 186,612 units. Chery followed with 120,207 units sales, skyrocketing from just 17,038 in 2024. 

Legacy European automakers generally saw their BEV sales rise too, in part due to their increased focus on affordable models over premium SUVs. Tesla’s annual European sales, on the other hand, collapsed 38%, contributing to a global decline that saw BYD deliver 2.26 million BEVs in 2025 against Tesla’s 1.64 million.

The December breakthrough occurred just weeks after the European Union proposed abandoning its 2035 ban on internal combustion engine vehicles. In its place it plans a 90% CO2 emissions reduction that would effectively permit the sale of petrol cars to continue, albeit in the form of hybrids and PHEVs. The regulatory retreat followed sustained lobbying from legacy automakers facing profitability challenges on BEVs, particularly in the face of competition from Chinese rivals and softened local demand across the board.