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European Electric Vehicle Market Booms in Q1 2025
The electric vehicle (EV) market in Europe experienced a significant surge in the first quarter of 2025, with a 20% increase in deliveries compared to the same period in 2024. This growth was primarily driven by a recovery and growth in battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales, supported by increased availability of competitive new models and strong demand in key markets.
BEV Sales on the Rise
BEV sales grew around 25% in the second quarter following a slight decline in 2024, and overall BEV sales in the first half of 2025 increased by 26% year-on-year, capturing about 15.6% to 17.4% of the market share across Europe.
Competitive New Models and Institutional Adoption
Despite Tesla’s sales contracting by 33% early in 2025 due to competition and a lack of strong new updates, other brands such as Volkswagen (with models like the ID.4, ID.3, and ID.7), BYD, Kia (with the new EV3), Renault (Renault 5 and Symbioz), and Skoda (Elroq and Kodiaq) contributed significantly to market growth. New model launches introduced more options, making EVs more attractive.
Corporate fleets, dealerships, and short-term rentals composed a large share (over 60%) of registrations in early 2025, indicating strong institutional adoption alongside private buyers, which helped boost sales.
Top Brands in Q1 2025
Volkswagen was the best-selling brand in Europe in the first quarter of 2025, with 94,273 units delivered, marking a 161.2% increase year on year. Tesla remained the top-selling BEV during the first half and in June 2025, despite a sharp drop in earlier months and ongoing pressure from competitors.
Kia came in eighth with 37,624 deliveries, up 13.8%, but its share dropped from 4.7% to 4.4% due to increasing competition. Renault posted 35,567 deliveries across the first three months of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 90% and its best quarterly period since the fourth quarter of 2022.
Volvo represented 5.9% of overall EV registrations in the first quarter of 2025, down by 2.2pp compared to one year ago. Mercedes-Benz had 58,152 units delivered in the first quarter of 2025, representing an 8.1% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. Audi claimed sixth place with 44,101 units in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 7.7% decline year on year.
Individual Model Performance
The Q4 e-tron was a popular choice among Audi customers, recording 17,164 deliveries in the first quarter of 2025. The Elroq, which entered the market in November 2024, recorded 6,531 registrations in the first quarter of 2025. The Skoda Kodiaq PHEV also contributed to the brand’s success, with 6,336 deliveries in the first quarter of 2025.
The ID.3, ID.4, and ID.7 were VW’s best-performing models, accounting for 60% of the marque’s total. The Renault 5, which began registrations in June 2024, made up 52.2% of the manufacturer’s total volume in the first quarter of 2025. The Enyaq commanded Skoda’s performance, representing 55.3% of the brand’s plug-in total in the first quarter of 2025.
Record Breaking Performance
Cupra secured seventh place with a record 39,106 registrations in the first quarter of 2025, a 124.6% increase year on year. The Cupra Born BEV performed well early in the quarter, recording 11,171 units between January and February. March 2025 was the plug-in market’s best month, with deliveries rising by 22.3%.
Germany led Europe’s EV market in the first quarter of 2025, accounting for 20.7% of all deliveries. The XC60 PHEV was a strong performer for Volvo, reaching 14,817 registrations in the first quarter of 2025.
The surge in EV deliveries was driven by recovering demand, expansion of competitive EV models, and strong fleet involvement, with Tesla and Volkswagen leading the market along with rising influence from Chinese and other European brands. This multi-faceted expansion helped push EV market share well beyond 15% for the first time in many European countries.
- The surge in electric vehicle deliveries was bolstered by a recovery in demand, the expansion of competitive electric vehicle models, and strong fleet involvement, with Tesla and Volkswagen leading the market along with rising influence from Chinese and other European brands.
- Tesla remained the top-selling BEV during the first half of 2025, despite a sharp drop in earlier months and ongoing pressure from competitors like Volkswagen, BYD, Kia, Renault, and Skoda.
- The availability of competitive new models, such as the ID.4, ID.3, and ID.7 from Volkswagen, contributed significantly to the growth of the electric vehicle market in Europe.
- The electric vehicle market witnessed a record-breaking performance in the first quarter of 2025, with electric cars and electric-vehicles accounting for about 15.6% to 17.4% of the market share across Europe, driven primarily by a recovery and growth in battery electric vehicle sales.
