The Automotive Update: Europe’s leading BEV market, emissions pooling and CES 2025
10 January 2025
Early January 2025 has seen a flurry of major automotive news stories, from emissions pooling to CES. Autovista24 journalist Tom Hooker discusses the week’s biggest headlines.
Which European market sold the most battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2024? The UK reconfirms its phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. Carmakers are pooling their emissions figures to navigate CO2 targets.
CES 2025 featured some important new automotive technology. Which model announcements made waves this week? Xpeng and Volkswagen announce a new joint charging network in China. Rolls Royce confirms the expansion of a UK production facility.
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The BEV battle
The 2024 registration results for Germany and the UK have been released. The UK recorded growth across the year while deliveries in Germany declined. This drop was largely due to a slump in the BEV sector, which fell by 27.4%. This meant the country lost its title as Europe’s best-selling BEV market. The UK took the mantle instead, thanks to a 56.8% BEV surge in December.
Meanwhile, the UK government confirmed it will bring the sales ban on new petrol and diesel models back to 2030. This deadline has changed on multiple occasions over the past few years. It was first announced in 2017, with a target date of 2040. In 2020 this was brought forward to 2030, before its push back to 2035, which was confirmed in 2023.
Carmakers are ‘pooling’ CO2 emissions with Tesla and Polestar to meet the EU’s 2025 targets. This means manufacturers with lower electric vehicle (EV) sales can buy emissions credits from other brands that are comfortably meeting targets. Stellantis, Ford, Toyota and Mazda are set to pool with BEV manufacturer Tesla. Meanwhile, Polestar, Volvo Cars, Mercedes-Benz and Smart will pool their emissions together.
CES 2025 and new models
At CES 2025, Sony Honda Mobility confirmed it is now accepting online reservations for its Afeela model. However, the company is currently only accepting orders from customers in California. Honda presented a world premiere of two prototype models from its 0 Series. BMW also revealed new in-cabin technology to improve the user experience. These systems will appear in new models, including the Neue Klasse, from the end of this year.
Elsewhere, Skoda unveiled its new Enyaq on Wednesday. Renault revealed the interior of its Twingo E-Tech prototype at the Brussels Motor Show. BYD also introduced the BYD Atto 2 to its European lineup. Toyota confirmed its new Urban Cruiser will be rolled out in late summer 2025. Genesis took the covers off its redesigned GV60 crossover SUV, with more details expected in the first quarter of this year.
Xpeng and Volkswagen (VW) announced plans to jointly build one of the largest super-fast charging networks in China. With a target of over 20,000 charging piles operated by the carmakers across 420 cities, both Xpeng and VW customers will be able to access the services.
Rolls Royce revealed expansion plans for its production facility in the UK on Wednesday. More than £300 million (€358 million) will be invested into its Goodwood site. This is the largest financial commitment made to the location since it opened in 2003.
