Europe’s car market experienced a decline during the first month of 2025. This is according to JATO Dynamics’ data for 28 European markets, which found that 993,068 passenger cars were registered in January 2025 – a decrease of 1.9% from the same month in 2024.
Internal combustion engine cars (ICEs) and plug-in hybrids experienced the biggest drop in volumes, with registrations decreasing by 10% and 6% respectively. In contrast, more than 166,000 units of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered – a year-on-year increase of 38%.
Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: “The market saw significant year-on-year growth in December 2024, largely due to the implementation of incentives and last-minute deals towards the end of the year. The removal of these has contributed to the decline in the number of passenger car registrations.”
Tesla experiences notable drop in registrations
Despite BEVs reporting strong results in January overall, Tesla registered only 9,913 units – a year-on-year decline of 45%. This can largely be attributed to the upcoming model changeover of the Model Y, alongside its owner’s increased involvement in mainstream politics.
Munoz commented: “The solid performance of BEVs is particularly impressive given the significant dip in sales that Tesla experienced in January. It’s not unusual for sales to drop just before a new generation or an updated model is introduced to the market, as the brand reduces the production of the existing model in anticipation of the new release. This is likely to be what Tesla is experiencing before it rolls out the refreshed version of the Model Y, after which it can expect to see sales pick up again.”
Although not brand new to the market, Tesla’s Model Y was Europe’s best-selling car in 2023 and the fourth best-seller in 2024. The latest version of Tesla’s Model 3 was released in late 2023 and recorded a 44% decline in registrations in January 2025. Munoz added: “The performance of both the Model 3 and Model Y is an indication of the declining popularity of Tesla in Europe overall.”
Chinese brands continue to climb the ranks
Although the overall European car market posted a decline, Chinese car brands continued to gain traction, with 37,134 vehicles registered in January, an increase of 52% from January 2024. The market share of Chinese brands grew from 2.4% to 3.7% over the same period.
While Chinese car brands do not dominate the European car market, their combined volume in January would have placed them in 12th position in terms of brand rankings for the month. This would have put them ahead of established brands such as Ford which registered 35,790 units.
The segment that drove the most growth for Chinese brands was hybrid models (HEVs). The imposition of tariffs on Chinese BEVs by the European Commission has sparked some Chinese car manufacturers to focus their efforts on other powertrains, including hybrids, to overcome these. As a result, almost 7,500 HEVs registered in Europe in January were from Chinese brands, accounting for 6.1% of the total HEV market. Plug-in hybrid models (PHEVs) made by Chinese brands also experienced year-on-year growth, with 4,035 units registered in January, compared to 1,276 during the same month in 2024.
