site.btaQ1 New Car Registrations in EU Down by 1.9%, Up by 0.9% in Bulgaria

Between January and March, new EU car registrations declined by 1.9% compared to Q1 2024, with March 2025 figures showing a slight 0.2% year-on-year (YOY) decline as the global economic context remains particularly challenging and unpredictable for auto makers, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Thursday.

In the first quarter of 2025, new battery-electric car sales grew by 23.9%, to 412,997 units, capturing 15.2% of total EU market share. Three of the four largest markets in the EU, accounting for 63% of all battery-electric car registrations, recorded robust gains: Germany (+38.9%), Belgium (+29.9%), and the Netherlands (+7.9%). This contrasted with France, which saw a decline of 6.6%.

Q1 2025’s figures also showed new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars rising by 20.7%, driven by significant growth in the four biggest markets: France (+47.5%), Spain (+36.6%), Italy (+15.3%), and Germany (+10.5%). This led to 964,108 units registered in the first quarter of 2025, representing 35.5% of the EU market share.

Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars grew by 1.1% in Q1 2025, with a total of 207,048 units. This was primarily driven by significant increases in volume for key markets such as Germany (+41.8%) and Spain (+30.7%). As a result, plug-in-hybrid electric cars represent 7.6% of total car registrations in the EU, up from 7.4% in Q1 2024.

Furthermore, in March 2025 YOY variation showed a rise of 17.1% for battery-electric and 23.9% for hybrid-electric cars, while plug-in-hybrid electric recorded 12.4% growth.

By the end of the first quarter of 2025, petrol car registrations saw a significant decline of 20.6%, with all major markets showing decreases. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 34.1%, followed by Germany (-26.6%), Italy (-15.8%), and Spain (-9.5%).

With 779,817 new cars registered so far, the market share for petrol dropped to 28.7%, down from 35.5% during the same period last year. Similarly, the diesel car market declined by 27.1%, resulting in a 9.5% market share for diesel vehicles in Q1 2025. Overall, double-digit declines were observed in most EU markets. Additionally, the March 2025 YOY variation showed a decline of 20.7% for petrol and 25.5% for diesel.

In Bulgaria, 11,608 new cars were registered in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 0.9% compared to the first three months of 2024. Of these, petrol cars accounted for 9,622 or a 3.9% increase on the first quarter of 2024, followed by diesel cars at 1,042 or a 26.9% drop, all-battery electric cars were 531 or up 12.5%, hybrid electric cars were 302, up 39.8 per cent and plug-in hybrids were 111 or down 16.5%.