The Automotive Update: EU registrations lose momentum and global EV market growth
25 July 2025
Could the EU new-car market return to growth at the end of the first half of 2025? Which models topped the global electric vehicle (EV) market in May? And how close is the European Union and the US to a trade deal? Autovista24 journalist Tom Hooker examines the week’s biggest news in The Automotive Update podcast.
This week, Autovista24 explores the latest data from ACEA. Can the EU’s new-car market could end the first half of 2025 with volume growth. Plus, a look at the performance of global battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) markets with EV Volumes. Finally, could new regulations force rental firms to buy only EV models?
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EU registration figures
After recording a 0.6% year-to-date decline in May, The EU was close to returning to growth in June, the halfway point of the year.
However, total deliveries across the 27 member states fell by 7.3% in the month, with over 1.01 million units reaching customers. This meant registrations ended the first half of 2025 further from improvement. The total of 5.58 million units was a deficit of 79,777 units compared with the same period in 2024.
EU BEV registration increases meant that the technology made up 16.7% of new-car volumes last month. Meanwhile, PHEVs saw a healthy year-on-year ramp-up, giving the powertrain a 9.3% market share.
Hybrid growth weighed in its smallest year-on-year increase of 2025 at 6.1%. This was the first single-digit monthly growth in the six-month period. The result gave the technology a 33.8% market hold.
Declining registrations of internal-combustion engine (ICE) models are preventing the overall market from growing. Petrol suffered a year-on-year slump of 25.4% in June, while diesel’s decline was more pronounced, with a 34.1% fall.
Global EV market performance
The global EV market expanded in May, according to data from EV Volumes. BEV models saw a year-on-year improvement of 26.3%, with around 1.08 million units delivered, while PHEVs improved by 42.7%, with nearly 650,000 registrations.
Between January and May, the BEV market increased by 36%. Meanwhile, the PHEV market improved by 33.5% in the same period.
China remained the global BEV market in the month, with the US in second place and Germany in third. This order was replicated in the figures for January to May.
Looking at the model performance, the Tesla Model Y led the way in the BEV market, by a considerable margin. This is despite a slow month in the ruling Chinese market.
In the PHEV market the BYD Song Plus, also known as the Seal U, led the way. The BYD Song Pro was second, while Li Auto saw its L6 model take third place in May.
Trade deal close
The EU and US are closing in on a trade deal that would impose 15% tariffs on European imports, according to the Financial Times. If the EU agrees to the deal, it will avoid the threats made by US president Donald Trump to raise import tariff rates to 30% starting in August.
The news follows Trump’s trade deal with Japan this week. The agreement lowered tariffs on automotive imports into the US from Japan to 15%. This is down from previous levies totalling 27.5%, according to Reuters.
EV rental
Car rental firms in the EU could be banned from purchasing new petrol and diesel models from 2030, according to German newspaper Bild, and reported by Bloomberg. New plans are being worked on by the European Commission to potentially accelerate the uptake of EVs.
The Commission plans to present the proposal later in the summer before submitting it for parliamentary approval.
Germany’s federal chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken out against the proposal, as written by Handelsblatt. ‘The plans completely miss the needs that we currently have together in Europe. These are not the proposals that are right. Rather, we want to remain open to technology,’ he stated.
