EU Car Registrations Fall for First Time in 7 Months

EU passenger car registrations rose 1.4% year-on-year to 865,437 units in February 2026, rebounding from a 3.9% decline in the previous month, supported by growth across most of the bloc’s four largest markets, including Germany (3.8%), Spain (7.5%), and Italy (14.0%). In contrast, France recorded a sharp drop (-14.7%). In the first two months of the year, new EU car registrations edged down 1.2%. Meanwhile, the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) segment continued to gain traction, with its market share rising to 18.8% year-to-date from 15.2% a year earlier. In February alone, BEV registrations jumped 20.6% year-on-year to 158,280 units, driven by strong growth in Germany (28.7%), France (27.8%), Denmark (26.1%), and Italy (81.3%). Last year, total EU car registrations increased 1.8% compared with 2024.

EU passenger car registrations dropped 3.9% yoy to a five-month low of 799,625 units in January 2026, reversing a 5.8% rise in the previous month and marking the first contraction since June. The bloc’s four largest markets all posted declines: Germany (-6.6%), France (-6.6%), Spain (-33.8%), and Italy (-16.2%), highlighting broad-based weakness at the start of the year.However, battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations jumped 24.2% from a year earlier. Growth was driven by strong gains in Germany (23.8%), France (52.1%), Denmark (52.7%), and Italy (40.7%). About 154,230 new BEVs were registered, accounting for 19.3% of the total EU market share, up from 14.9% a year ago. In 2025, overall EU car registrations rose 1.8% compared with 2024.

Passenger car registrations in the European Union increased 5.8% year-on-year to a six-month high of 963,319 units in December 2025, following a 2.1% rise in November. This marked the sixth consecutive month of growth, with two of the EU’s four largest markets recording gains. Registrations in Germany rose by 9.7%, while those in Italy increased by 2.3%. Meanwhile, registrations in Spain fell 2.2%, while those in France dropped 5.8%. In the battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment, registrations surged 51.0%, supported particularly by jumps in the Netherlands (80.1%), Germany (63.2%), Belgium (52.3%), France (42.5%), and Spain (26.8%). For the entire of 2025, total EU car registrations rose 1.8% compared with 2024. Meanwhile, BEVs totaled 1.9 million registrations, capturing 17.4% of the EU market, up from a low baseline of 13.6% in the year to December 2024.