Car sales in Europe: Which brands are rising and falling?

Published connected 12/09/2025 - 7:00 GMT+2 •Updated 9:06

Europe’s car manufacture is nether strain, squeezed by Trump tariffs, fierce title from China and nan costly demands of gathering home rules for electrical conveyance adoption.

The sector, which accounts for much than 7% of EU GDP and employs much than 13 cardinal people, faces mounting unit to enactment competitory while absorbing nan financial weight of nan modulation to cleaner mobility.

The EU’s adjacent steps successful consequence to these challenges will beryllium important successful shaping nan early of nan automotive sector, a cardinal manufacture for nan region.

EU car income by nan numbers

According to recently released information from nan European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), EU caller car registrations successful nan first 7 months of 2025 fell 0.7% compared pinch nan aforesaid play past year.

EU car income roseate 7.4% successful July 2025, pinch Volkswagen and Renault posting beardown gains, while Stellantis slipped. Tesla, meanwhile, saw income plunge by 40.2%.

In nan first 7 months of 2025, much than 1 cardinal battery-electric vehicles were registered crossed nan EU.

Plug-in hybrids posted their strongest maturation since January 2023, while battery-electric cars recorded nan biggest summation since August past year, according to ACEA data.

Three of nan EU’s 4 largest markets, which together relationship for much than 60% of battery-electric registrations, posted gains successful nan first 7 months of 2025, led by Germany (+38.4%), Belgium (+17.6%) and nan Netherlands (+6.5%).

Registrations of battery-electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid cars roseate by 39.1%, 56.9% and 14.3%, respectively, together making up 59.8% of nan bloc’s full registrations, compared pinch 51.1% successful July 2024.

Tesla’s car income successful Europe fell 40.2% year-on-year, cutting its marketplace stock to 0.7% from 1.3%.

Meanwhile, China’s BYD much than tripled its sales, reaching 1.2% of nan marketplace and overtaking Tesla for nan first clip successful nan region.

German brands are among nan automakers astir exposed to protectionist waste and acquisition policies, emotion nan compression arsenic higher tariffs already thrust up costs crossed nan proviso chain.

Volkswagen successful peculiar faces nan task of cutting mill overcapacity and restructuring costs to support gait pinch Chinese challengers for illustration BYD.

"We invited title because it drives innovation," a Volkswagen spokesperson told Euronews.

"It is besides evident that Chinese competitors successful Europe must besides accommodate to nan circumstantial requirements of nan marketplace and cannot adopt technologies from China connected a 1:1 basis," nan spokesperson said.

New tariff policies person thrown European carmakers into uncertainty, leaving them incapable to foretell early costs, proviso concatenation stability, aliases marketplace reactions.

The Volkswagen Group welcomed nan caller joint declaration by nan EU Commission and nan US government.

German carmakers suffered billions successful losses aft President Trump imposed 27.5% tariffs connected European automakers successful April. Although those duties person since been lowered to 15%, nan reduced complaint has not yet taken effect.

The group wants nan US management to disperse nan clouds surrounding nan industry:

"In bid to guarantee nan prospective tariffs of 15% for car imports from nan EU to nan USA pinch retroactive effect from August 1, nan US management should now initiate nan basal administrative processes aft nan EU Commission has fulfilled nan basal requirements for retroactive application. This is nan only measurement to debar higher burdens for companies," nan spokesperson said.