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The latest on EU car sales: battery electric vehicles down, hybrids up

30.01.2025

Once again, new data from the European automobile industry confirm that need for a more flexible EU approach to de-fossilising road transport, as sales of battery electric vehicles decline.

Europeans continue to buy mostly petrol and hybrid cars that run on liquid fuels and will be on EU roads for a long time to come. The most immediate, cost-effective, sustainable and socially inclusive way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from these cars is by replacing petrol with renewable ethanol.

According to the latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), sales of battery-electric vehicles fell by 10.2% in December 2024, driven by significant decreases in new registrations in Germany (-38.6%) and France (-20.7%).

Meanwhile sales of hybrid (+33.1%) and plug-in hybrid (+4.9%) rose in December 2024. Altogether, a huge majority of new car sales in Europe – more than 70% -- are either petrol or hybrid vehicles.

It’s clear the EU needs to do more to open up its policies on de-fossilisation of road transport to include the contribution of renewable liquid fuels – even beyond 2035.

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