Can Spain’s new-car market stretch EV success into 2026?
09 January 2026
December marked the only month of decline for Spain’s new-car market in 2025. However, this did little to dampen what has been a strong year, buoyed by headline-grabbing electric vehicle (EV) sales. But is this strength reflected in the wider market shares, and can 2025’s success continue? Autovista24 web editor James Roberts investigates.
For the second consecutive year since the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain’s new-car market recorded year-on-year growth. According to Autovista24 calculations of ANFAC data, 1,148,650 new vehicles were delivered in Spain across 2025. This equated to a near 13% year-on-year increase.
‘This figure places our market almost at the level of what is considered “our natural market”,’ stated Ana Azofra, regional head of valuation and insights at Autovista Group. ‘Furthermore, this positive trend has remained consistent throughout the year, so the outlook for 2026 continues to point to a solid market with slight growth.’
‘Private buyers have driven this growth, closing 18% above 2024. Although it is true that part of these sales come from the support plan following the floods in the Mediterranean area, throughout the year, this channel has continued to increase demand. The fleet and leasing channel has also grown by 10% in the year to date,’ added Azofra.
An end to growth?
Looking solely at December’s figures, a year-on-year decline ended 15 months of consecutive improvements. Autovista24 analysis of ANFAC data revealed that in the final month of the year, 103,012 new vehicles took to Spanish roads. This meant a 2.2% drop, compared with December 2024.
Industry bodies have attributed this to the ‘DANA effect’ of increased new-vehicle demand following serious flooding in Spain during 2024. The figures for December that year were subsequently higher than usual.
Despite this, last month’s totals proved strong. Not only did they exceed 100,000 units, but also returned the fourth-highest monthly total of 2025, according to Autovista24 calculations.
‘It has been a very positive year because individuals and companies have also increased their demand for new cars, pulling the market,’ outlined Félix García, director of communication and marketing at ANFAC. ‘It is true that we are still far from the 1,259,000 units sold in 2019, but the truth is that the market is gradually recovering, and we hope that in 2026 we will be close to the level reached before the pandemic.’
EV incentives moving on
Key to Spain’s new-car market prosperity in 2025 has been a healthy uptake in EVs, including battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). Integral to this trend has been a long-standing set of regional incentives available throughout Spain’s autonomous communities.
Since 2019, the MOVES plan has provided financial incentives for EV purchases, plus the installation of charging infrastructure. Its various iterations have helped foster healthy and consistent electrification, especially relative to other major European markets.
In April, the MOVES III purchase incentive scheme was implemented, backed by €400 million. This turned out to be the final chapter of the MOVES plan. As of January 2026, it has been replaced by a centralised incentive framework labelled Auto Plan 2030.
Despite well-documented problems such as delays in payments, red tape and regional disparities, the MOVES plan helped EV sales in 2025. Autovista24 analysis of ANFAC data reveals that December saw 23,858 EVs registered in Spain. This was the second-highest monthly total and a 57.7% year-on-year gain.
Breaking down the EV powertrains, PHEVs enjoyed an eighth consecutive month of triple-digit growth. The plug-in technology improved by 101.1% and claimed a fairly consistent 12.3% of the monthly market share in December.
Meanwhile, BEVs captured 10.8% of the monthly new-car market, up 2.4 percentage points (pp) on 12 months prior. In terms of units, December saw 11,177 all-electric cars delivered, up by 26.7%.
EVs power towards 20% market share
Assessing 2025 as a whole, there was plenty to cheer in terms of electrification in Spain’s new-car market. Almost one in five new cars registered in Spain last year was an EV. In all, 225,608 plug-in vehicles joined Spain’s car parc, according to Autovista24 calculations.
As well as marking a 94.6% year-on-year upswing, the powertrain grouping established a high share of 19.6%. Compared with 2024, these gains amounted to a sizeable 8.2pp increase.
‘The automotive market in 2025 has performed much better than expected and is already bringing us closer to the sales figures we had before the pandemic,’ stated Raúl Morales, communication director of FACONAUTO. ‘This has been largely due to the good performance of electrified vehicle registrations, thanks to the fact that the MOVES plans have worked.’
Of the two EV powertrains, PHEVs have proved the most popular choice among customers in Spain. Across the year, 123,986 units left the nation’s forecourts, a huge 111.7% year-on-year volume surge. This secured a 10.8% market share, up 5pp from the previous year’s totals.
December’s bumper BEV performance, coupled with continued plug-in hybrid prowess, helped push up annual EV totals. However, in isolation, the PHEV market hold ended up a significant 18.9pp behind petrol’s share.
However, at the conclusion of 2025, BEVs did hit a new high point, with a share of 8.8%. Back in January, the powertrain held the same market share as the palpably unpopular diesel. Fast forward 12 months, and the BEV share pulled clear of the fuel type to the tune of 3.3pp.
2025 year of EV take-off in Spain
For industry observers like Azofra, the months ahead look positive. It is hoped that the momentum gained in 2025, plus the new Auto Plan 2030, can only help electrify the Spanish market.
‘2025 has been the year of the take-off for electric mobility in Spain, reaching a market share of almost 20%, and exceeding 200,000 units of BEV and PHEV sales for the first time,’ confirmed Azofra.
‘The outlook in this regard is positive, thanks to the recently approved Auto Plan 2030, which will consolidate the drive towards electrification,’ she added.
Hybrids help electrify Spain
Mirroring an established European new-car trend, Spain saw hybrid sales dominate its new-car market in 2025.
These registrations, encompassing both full and mild-hybrid technologies, accounted for 42% of the overall new-car market in 2025, a 3.4pp leap. In all, 482,874 vehicles made their way to customers over the year, according to Autovista24 calculations. This proved to be a 23.1% uptick from 2024’s annual figures.
Additionally, a prosperous month for the powertrain helped electrified models end the year brightly. Adding EVs to hybrid volumes, this grouping hit a new market-share peak of 61.7% in 2025.
At the end of 2024, new electrified vehicle figures breached the 50% mark for the first time. One year later, the gains amounted to 11.7pp. Hybrids contributed the most to this success. It remains to be seen whether new domestic incentives wean Spanish drivers away from hybrids and towards EVs in 2026.
Petrol and diesel’s demise exaggerated?
If hybrid popularity prevailed across European new-car markets in 2025, so did the decline of internal-combustion engines (ICEs). Spain was no exception. However, despite monthly year-on-year drops for both petrol and diesel registrations, the reality is more nuanced.
In total, 380,898 new ICE vehicles were registered in Spain during 2025. This 19.8% fall in sales resulted in a 33.2% market share, a stark 13.5pp nosedive. Despite this, ICE has not crashed into the ground in Spain just yet.
Petrol ended the year as the second most popular powertrain in terms of market share. A total of 318,216 units secured a 27.7% hold, albeit 9.5pp down on 2024’s figures. However, since January, petrol’s grip on the market only slipped 1.8pp.
While petrol power remains a declining, but not unappealing proposition in Spain’s new-car market, diesel dipped considerably in 2025. Despite relatively modest year-on-year sales drops in October and November, it saw 62,681 deliveries across the year, down 35%.
The fuel type closed the year with a 5.5% share of the overall market. This was down 4pp year on year, just 0.3pp above the ‘other’ category.
This grouping, encompassing liquid-petroleum gas and natural gas, ended the year strongly. Volumes increased 76.8% year on year to 59,271, increasing its share by 1.9pp. This served to add another layer to Spain’s intriguing new-car market, as it looks to further electrify in 2026.
