Automobile: hybrid cars once again overtake petrol models in Europe

Registrations of new hybrid cars have once again exceeded those of vehicles using gasoline in January 2025 in Europe, the European Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) announced on Tuesday. Registrations of these models equipped with gasoline engines and small electric motors represented 34.9% of the market (+18.4% year-on-year). Gasoline cars are starting to follow the slippery path already taken by diesel: they showed a sharp decline in January (-18.9%), particularly in France and Germany. Gasoline models now represent 29.4% of the market and diesel, once ubiquitous, 10% (-27% year-on-year).

Hybrids, which are a little more sober and less polluting than petrol models, and much cheaper than electric models, are thus regaining control of the European market after dominating it for the first time for three months from September to November 2024. 100% electric models are growing strongly over one year (+34%), particularly in Belgium, Germany and Italy (+126%) but remain stable compared to December 2024, and with large disparities depending on the country.

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At the European level, electric vehicles now represent 15% of registrations, still far from the targets set for manufacturers by the European Commission, at 25% for the year 2025 and 100% in 2035. The electric pioneer Tesla saw its sales halved in January, slowed down by a change of range in progress and also, potentially, by positions taken by its boss Elon Musk alongside the American president Donald Trump which would scare away buyers. "It is clear that Europe still has to work to avoid stagnating" , stressed the general director of ACEA, Sigrid de Vries, in a press release.

ACEA is calling for a relaxation of European rules on CO2 emissions, from which these electric car sales targets arise. "The EU must do everything possible to make the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the Automotive Industry (underway in Brussels, Editor's note) a success, to enable an effective transition to zero-emission mobility while preserving our global competitiveness," continued Sigrid de Vries. The success of hybrids has already benefited the Toyota group, a pioneer of this technology, in 2024, which remains at a high level of sales despite a slight drop in January (-4.9%). It also benefits Renault (+5%), which reaches 10.9% market share.

All energies combined, the month of January 2025 does not deny a year 2024 which remained very weak, with a market that never returned to its volumes before the Covid epidemic. Sales fell by 2.6% in January compared to January 2024. The main European markets (Germany, France, Italy) notably showed declines while Spain marked a slight rebound.

The Stellantis group suffered the brunt of this decline, with -17.9% over one year. But the group emphasizes that it is doing better after a catastrophic end to 2024, and the departure of its CEO Carlos Tavares. Stellantis has returned to 17.1% market share, its best performance since June 2024, said Luca Napolitano, head of European sales at Stellantis, in a press release. However, it remains far behind market leader Volkswagen, which continues to progress (+5.6% in January for 27.7% of the market), offsetting declines in its Skoda and Audi brands with an increase for its main VW brand and the sports models of Cupra.