BEVs shine as French new-car market slumps in July
04 August 2025
For only the second time in 2025, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) saw registration growth in the French new-car market. So, which powertrain failed to deliver in the month? Autovista24 special content editor Phil Curry examines the data.
The French new-car market suffered another steep decline in July, as the country’s automotive market continued to struggle.
In July, registrations of new passenger cars fell by 7.7%, according to data from the PFA. This marked the seventh consecutive month of delivery declines. The result means no year-o-year improvements have been made so far in 2025. It was also the 14th decline in the French new-car market in 15 months.
A total of 116,378 models took to French roads in the month, a difference of 9,659 units according to Autovista24 calculations. This represented the market’s third-biggest decline of the year. Sales to private individuals and fleets both fell by 10% each in the month.
Across the first seven months of 2025, the French new-car market declined by 7.9%. A total of 958,581 models were delivered. As a result, the country missed the one-million-unit mark, with 82,346 fewer registrations.
Changes to the country’s incentive scheme for BEVs are providing challenges in the French new-car market. These amendments could prove fruitful in the future. However, it is the decline of the petrol and diesel markets that is driving the country’s overall volumes down.
Wait-and-see approach
‘The automotive market is not recovering and is undoubtedly taking a wait-and-see approach due to changes in government support measures for EVs,’ commented Marie-Laure Nivot, head of automotive market analysis at AAA Data.
‘The new, slightly more advantageous ecological bonus formula has not yet had a significant impact given the delays between orders and deliveries.
‘Combined with the electric leasing expected at the start of the school year, it could finally make EVs attractive again for individuals, but it will not necessarily be enough to end this long downward trend that began in spring 2024,’ she added.
Strong French BEV market
The changes to the country’s ecological bonus came into effect on 1 July. The scheme has been renamed the ‘electric private vehicle boost’. It is now funded by energy savings certificates, with French government support withdrawn.
While the eligibility criteria for models are unchanged, the amounts available have been revised upwards. There will be €3,100 for households whose reference tax income is above €16,300, and €4,200 for the lowest-income households.
The social leasing plan will apply to 50,000 vehicles ordered from 30 September, according to AAA Data. Several brands are already displaying rental amounts.
BEVs saw figures improve by 14.8% in July, based on Autovista24 calculations. This was only the second time in 2025 that the all-electric market posted growth. This was its best performance of the year in terms of year-on-year percentage change.
A total of 19,547 BEVs were registered in the month. This gave the powertrain a 16.8% share of the new-car market, up by 3.3 percentage points (pp) over July 2024. In total, 2,517 more new all-electric models were delivered in July.
The monthly result meant the decline in the BEV market for the whole of 2025 so far improved slightly. Comparatively, the market was 4.3% down on 2024’s volumes, with 7,552 fewer models delivered. BEVs accounted for 17.5% of overall volumes from January to July, up 0.6pp year on year.
However, the new incentives do not seem to have impacted the BEV market in July. Growth was mainly down to fleet purchases. In this market, all-electric deliveries jumped around 70%, to gain a 22% market share. Private registrations declined by 15%, according to AAA Data.
Mixed results for hybrids
While BEVs led improvements in July, hybrids, made up of full and mild hybrids, dominated in terms of volumes.
A total of 53,188 units were registered in the month, an increase of 9.8% year on year, Autovista24 calculated. This gave the technology a market-leading 45.7% share of the country’s total. This was up from 38.4% in the same month of 2024.
Between January and July, a total of 429,405 hybrids were delivered to customers, a 30.5% increase. This equates to an improvement of 100,429 units. In this period, the powertrain represented 44.8% of the market, up 13.2pp.
Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations declined by 8.2% in the month, with 8,415 units delivered, according to Autovista24 calculations. Despite this, their market share remained stable, with the 7.2% recorded in the month, down 0.1pp year on year.
Over the first seven months of 2025, PHEVs recorded 57,564 deliveries, down 30.5% compared to the same period in 2024. This has meant their market share fell by 2pp, to 6%.
Combined French growth
Combining BEV and PHEV deliveries, the electric vehicle (EV) market grew by 6.7% in July, thanks to all-electric cars. This gave the technology a 24% share, up by 3.2pp. Between January and July, EVs were down 12.7%. Plug-ins took a 23.5% hold of overall registrations, down by 1.3pp.
Adding hybrids to these figures, the electrified market grew by 8.7% in July, equating to a jump of 6,492 units. This gave the powertrain grouping a dominating 69.7% hold of the market, its third-highest share of the year. The result also marked a 10.5pp increase compared to July 2024.
In the first seven months of 2025, electrified registrations were up 11.5%, with 67,579 more models delivered. This equated to a 68.3% market share, an increase of 11.9pp compared to 12 months prior.
Petrol fuels downfall
Much of France’s new-car market problems can be attributed to a steep decline in petrol and diesel registrations during 2025.
Petrol has not seen its monthly market volume increase since February 2024, making July its 17th consecutive drop. The powertrain achieved 24,919 deliveries in the month, a fall of 33.4%, based on Autovista24 analysis. This was its third-largest decline of the year and meant 12,522 fewer units were taken to the country’s roads.
This meant the fuel type’s market share fell by 8.3pp compared to July 2024. It ended the month at 21.4%, its joint-second-worst result of 2025. It was, however, an improvement on June’s result.
Across the first seven months of 2025, petrol has seen 219,766 registrations, a fall of 33.6%. Therefore, 111,360 fewer units were delivered in the country, over a third down compared to the same point last year.
The technology took 22.9% of the total passenger-car volume in the period. This was a drop of 8.9pp compared to 12 months prior and nearly half the share of the hybrid market.
Diesel slide continues
Meanwhile, diesel continued its slide in July. A fall of 28.3% meant 2,692 fewer registrations took place in the month. This left the powertrain with 5.9% of the market, down from the 7.5% seen in July 2024, according to Autovista24 calculations.
Between January and July, 48,306 diesel models were registered, a drop of 41% year on year. The fuel type captured a 5% market share during this period, a drop of 2.9pp. However, the technology closed the gap to PHEVs compared to their first-half shares, with just 1pp between them.
The poor performances meant that the combined internal-combustion engine (ICE) market fell by 32.4% in July, taking just 27.3% of the market. This was a 10pp drop year on year.
In the first seven months of 2025, ICE model deliveries declined by 35.1%, holding 28% of the total. This was down from its 39.7% share recorded a year previously.
