Despite growth in new battery-electric vehicle registrations across the expanded European Union market, total registrations fell 4% year-over-year in January, according to Jato Dynamics.
Latest data encompassing registrations in the Europe-28 markets reported in Jato Dynamics’ March 10 release said new passenger car volume declined to 953,290 units in January from 993,456 for the same month in 2025.
Germany and France both recorded a 6.6% decrease, while registrations in Spain fell by 3.1%.
Conversely, both Italy and the U.K. showed positive growth with registrations up by 6.3% and 3.4% respectively, according to the company.
Also, year-over-year registrations of EVs were up 13%, with the segment taking 20% of overall market share.
Jato’s European full-year 2025 report showed the Volkswagen Group overtook Tesla to claim the status of the continent’s best-selling EV brand, with 274,000 units registered in total in 2025, up 56% YoY.
The brand’s growth has been driven by the introduction of the ID.7, which together with the VW Group’s Škoda Elroq will play an important role in the group’s ability to cut emissions and avoid penalties, said Jato.
Despite a 28% fall in volumes compared with 2024, the Tesla Model Y remained Europe’s best-selling EV last year. Ranking second was the Elroq, with 93,000 registrations in its first full year, and the Tesla Model 3, which saw registrations decline by 24% YoY.
Plug-in hybrids were the fastest-growing powertrain among consumers, recording a YoY rise of 32% from 75,242 to 99,303 units and accounting for 10% of the market share. This growth primarily was driven by VW Group’s new plug-in models (the VW Golf and Tayron, and the Audi A5 and A3) as well as the top two best-selling PHEVs: BYD’s Seal U and Jaecoo’s 7.
Mild hybrids secured 26% of the market in January, just below internal-combustion-engine vehicles’ steadily declining market share of 29%. Hybrids remained stable, increasing 4% YoY to account for 14% of the market.
Stellantis brands also enjoyed growth, with January new car registrations up 7.4% YoY. Despite declines of about 5% for both Peugeot and Jeep, Fiat powered ahead rising by 24.7% owing to the launch of the new Grande Panda.
However, other legacy auto groups did not fare so well with the Volkswagen Group reporting a 4.4% drop YoY despite the performance of its Škoda brand which saw a 9.8% increase in new vehicle registrations for the month.
Similarly, despite the Renault brand’s increase of 4.6% against data for the same period last year, the broader Renault Group declined by 14.8%, dragged down by registrations of the budget brand’s Dacia Duster and Sandero models despite stronger results for its Bigster.
China-based brands selling in Europe saw January declines, too, with Geely Group and MG falling 7.3% and 5.3%, respectively.
Yet newcomers continued to grow strongly. BYD was the top Chinese importer, registering 8,977 EV units, up 86% versus January 2025, while Leapmotor registered 3,833 EV units, up 357% from January 2025.
“As demand for ICE vehicles declines, MHEVs (mild-hybrid electric vehicles) are increasingly emerging as a natural substitute,” said Jato’s senior consultant Daniele Ministeri. “Consumers are also becoming more willing to explore alternative powertrains and move away from traditional ICE vehicles, supported by the strong growth of both BEVs and PHEVs,” he added.
