As vehicle prices rise, EU buyers postpone purchases

Since H2 2024, the European automotive industry has been increasingly vocal about the difficulty reconciling more stringent CO2 regulations in 2025 with lacklustre electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) on 25 February might add to the consternation.

Across the EU, new car registrations fell 2.6% year-on-year in January, with approximately the same decline shown when also factoring in the EFTA and UK. However, it wasn’t e-mobility dragging down the numbers: battery EVs and hybrid EVs both grew their respective market shares by 4.1% and 6.2%. Instead, it was the combined fall in share for gasoline and diesel vehicles—from 48.7% to 39.4%—that took the region’s numbers into the red.