VW tops European EV market as overall demand rises
22 May 2025
Electric vehicle (EV) deliveries surged across Europe in the first quarter of 2025, with Volkswagen (VW) reclaiming the top spot in the best-seller rankings. Autovista24 journalist Tom Hooker breaks down the latest data.
A total of 847,591 EVs took to European roads in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 20% year on year. This equated to a gain of 141,543 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) compared to the first three months of 2024. The growth was mainly driven by all-electric powertrains, which saw registrations surge by 28%.
According to the latest data from EV Volumes, March was the plug-in market’s best month, with deliveries rising by 22.3%. Strong growth was also recorded in January, up 20.7%, while February saw the lowest increase of 16.2%.
BEVs continued to account for the majority of EV registrations, and its hold on the market grew in the first quarter, compared to one year prior. The technology made up 68.3% of the plug-in total from January to March, up 4.3 percentage points (pp) year on year. This meant the share of PHEVs dropped from 36% to 31.7%.
Germany led Europe’s EV market in the first three months of 2025, accounting for 20.7% of all deliveries. The UK followed closely, just 1,761 units behind, with a 20.5% share. France ranked third with 11.3%, while Belgium and the Netherlands claimed 6% and 5.7% respectively.
VW takes EV lead
VW emerged as Europe’s best-selling brand in the first quarter of 2025, thanks to 94,273 units. This was the carmaker’s highest-ever volume in a quarter. It also marked an increase of 161.2% year on year. The carmaker took an 11.1% share of plug-in volumes from January to March, an improvement of 6pp.
The ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 were VW’s best-performing models, with the trio accounting for 60% of the marque’s total.
BMW secured second, reaching 78,896 deliveries, up 12.3% year on year. It made up 9.3% of the market, down from 9.9%. The BMW iX1 proved popular in this period, with 14,379 registrations. The brand was also helped by good performances from its X1 and 5-Series PHEV models, with 7,992 and 7,019 units respectively.
Poor EV performances
Mercedes-Benz came next with 58,152 units, down 8.1% compared to the first quarter of 2024. It also equated to its lowest quarterly figure since the second quarter of 2023. This caused the carmaker’s market share to fall from 9% to 6.9%. Its EQA SUV performed particularly well, posting 10,834 deliveries.
Tesla ranked fourth, with registrations falling 37.3% year on year to 54,233 units. This gave the brand a 6.4% market share, nearly half of the 12.2% it held a year earlier. This marked its lowest quarterly total since the third quarter of 2022.
However, its Model Y and Model 3 still topped Europe’s BEV market, with 30,407 and 23,388 units respectively.
Volvo finished fifth, with 49,923 deliveries in the first quarter. This was a drop of 12.3% compared to the first three months of 2024, its worst performance since the fourth quarter of 2023.
The manufacturer represented 5.9% of overall EV registrations, down by 2.2pp compared to one year ago. Its XC60 PHEV enjoyed a good start to the year, reaching 14,817 registrations.
Audi claimed sixth with 44,101 units. This represented a 7.7% decline year on year, as its share also fell from 6.8% to 5.2%. The Q4 e-tron was a popular choice among customers, recording 17,164 deliveries.
Cupra is coming
Cupra secured seventh place with a record 39,106 registrations in the first quarter of 2025, a remarkable 124.6% increase year on year. The brand captured 4.6% of the total EV market, up 2.1 percentage points from 2024. The Cupra Born BEV performed especially well early in the quarter, recording 11,171 units between January and February.
Then came Kia in eighth, with 37,624 deliveries, up 13.8%. However, due to increasing competition, its share dropped from 4.7% to 4.4%. The EV3 boosted the marque’s volume significantly, making up 48.7% of its total.
Skoda landed ninth, as it saw 35,946 new EV models take to the road. This was a 105.3% improvement compared to the same period last year, giving it a 1.7pp increase in market share to 4.2%.
Its Enyaq commanded the performance, representing 55.3% of the brand’s plug-in total. Meanwhile, the Elroq, which entered the market in November 2024, recorded 6,531 registrations. The Skoda Kodiaq PHEV also helped, with 6,336 deliveries.
Rounding out the top 10 was Renault, trailing Skoda by just 379 units. It posted 35,567 deliveries across the first three months of 2025. This was a year-on-year increase of 90% and marked the brand’s best quarterly period since the fourth quarter of 2022.
The carmaker represented 4.2% of the overall EV market, up from 2.7%. The Renault 5, which began registrations in June 2024, made up 52.2% of the manufacturer’s total volume.
