Hybrid cars overtake petrol models again in Europe

These engine models, a little more sober and less polluting than gasoline models, and much less expensive than electric ones, are regaining control of the European market after having dominated it for the first time for three months from September to November 2024.

Registrations of new hybrid cars have once again surpassed 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% over one 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% over one year).

Hybrids, which are a little more sober and less polluting than petrol models, and much cheaper than electric ones, are thus regaining control of the European market after having dominated 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. At the European level, electric models now represent 15% of registrations, still very far from the objectives set for manufacturers by the European Commission, at 25% for the year 2025 and 100% in 2035.

Electric car pioneer Tesla saw its sales halved in January, hampered by an ongoing change in its range and also, potentially, by positions taken by its boss Elon Musk alongside US President Donald Trump which could scare away buyers.

"It is clear that Europe still has work to do to avoid stagnation," ACEA Director General Sigrid de Vries said in a statement.

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 in 2024, a pioneer in this technology, 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, January 2025 does not contradict a year 2024 that 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) in particular showed declines while Spain recorded 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.