Hybrid car sales continue to grow in Europe, confirming need for renewable liquid fuels

The latest data from the European automobile industry once again confirm the continued importance of renewable ethanol, the most effective way to reduce emissions from the hybrid and petrol cars that EU motorists prefer.

Hybrid vehicles remain the number-one category of new-car sales, according to ACEA, representing 35.3% of new car sales so far in 2025 and they “continue to grow in popularity, retaining their place as the most popular power type amongst buyers.”

The EU market share of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which also run partly on liquid fuel, is also growing: up nearly 8% in April.

Petrol and hybrid cars together make up more than 71% of new cars. These vehicles will be on the roads for a long time, and the most immediate and cost-effective way to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions is with renewable ethanol.

While sales of battery-electric vehicles have increased as well, they still represent just 15% of new EU car registrations.

The need for a more flexible and pragmatic EU approach to de-fossilising road transport has never been clearer. Even beyond 2035, renewable fuels such as ethanol have an important role to play.

As the ongoing Tour d’Europe project is demonstrating across the EU, renewable fuels are already helping drive transport decarbonisation – a solution that is widely available and easily implemented in today’s infrastructure.