- EV sales across the European Union have reached an impressive milestone, after the latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show that sales of fully-electric cars overtook pure petrol cars for the first time.
- In December 2025, 22.6% of new cars registered were BEV, compared to 22.5% being petrol.
- It’s a key milestone for the European car market, showing a clear trend towards early mainstream EV adoption.
Pure EV overtakes pure petrol in the EU
The ACEA’s latest report indicates a key milestone for EV adoption in the EU, and reflects a wider trend seen in other non-EU countries, such as Norway and the UK. For the first time, in December 2025, fully-electric cars outnumbered pure petrol cars when it came to new EU car registrations within that month.
December 2025 was also the month that the European Union made significant changes to its bloc-wide EV mandate. Previously, this legislated for 100% of passenger cars sold by 2035 to be zero-emission, but this has now been reduced to 90%, allowing new passenger cars with a combustion engine to be sold beyond that date. Even so, the rising EV registrations within the EU show that consumers are still keen to make the switch, and that is ever more apparent with this latest news from the ACEA.
EVs overtaking petrol for the first time is an impressive milestone, but EVs still remain some way off becoming the most popular drivetrain type for new car registrations. Currently, that’s held by hybrid electric vehicles (non plug-in), which accounted for 33.7% of new registrations in December. The EV adoption journey still has a long journey ahead, and policies and messaging that propel the transition must be kept strong in the years to come for this upwards trend to continue.
Overall, the data underlines a pivotal moment for the European car market. While mild hybrids continue to dominate new registrations and EVs are not yet the default choice for most buyers, fully-electric cars overtaking pure petrol for the first time is a clear signal of shifting consumer preferences within the EU.
