Sales of fully electric vehicles outpaced those of petrol cars in the European Union for the first time in December, marking a new milestone for the region even as policymakers proposed to loosen emissions regulations, data from the leading auto industry group, European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), showed on Tuesday.
Battery-electric registrations, a proxy for sales, also overtook those of petrol cars in the broader European market, which includes Britain and Norway, as car sales on the continent logged a sixth month of year-over-year growth.
Competition from Chinese brands such as BYD, Changan and Geely is intensifying the race for the European market, even as domestic carmakers like Volkswagen and BMW roll out new EV models.
The EU unveiled a plan in December to abandon an effective 2035 ban on combustion engine cars, bowing to pressure from carmakers as they fend off challenges from Chinese rivals, U.S. import tariffs and difficulties in selling EVs profitably.
Yet, experts expect EVs to keep increasing their share of the European market.
E-Mobility Europe's Secretary General Chris Heron said European brands have started to adapt by introducing new and affordable EVs, while individual countries offer new incentive schemes.
"We're seeing consumer buy-in to this," Heron said. "We're confident that sales across Europe will continue to grow in 2026."
Overall registrations in Europe, Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) for Volkswagen and Stellantis rose 10.2% and 4.5%, respectively, in December, while they fell 2.2% at Renault.
Tesla's registrations fell 20.2% in the month, while those of BYD surged 229.7%.
Sales in the EU, Britain and the European Free Trade Association rose 7.6% to 1.2 million cars in December and by 2.4% to 13.3 million overall in 2025, hitting their highest volumes in five years, though they remained well below pre-pandemic levels, ACEA data showed.
Total EU car sales rose 5.8% to almost 1 million vehicles in December, and by 1.8% to 10.8 million in the year.
December registrations of battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid electric cars were up 51%, 36.7% and 5.8%, respectively, to account collectively for 67% of the bloc's registrations.
Independent automotive analyst Matthias Schmidt said fewer petrol sales partly reflect the reclassification of some as "mild hybrids," which only modestly contribute to lowering emissions.
"It will still take around half a decade before pure electric cars genuinely overtake combustion-engine models across the region, but this is nonetheless a start," he said.
However, data indicated that hybrid-electric vehicles were the leading choice last year, dethroning purely petrol-powered cars as the top power option among consumers in Europe.
Despite the modest overall sales growth, consumers continued to shift towards hybrid and battery-electric vehicles.
Sales of hybrid-electric vehicles climbed by 13.5% to account for 34.5% of total sales in the EU last year, putting them ahead of petrol cars at 26.6%.
