European car market grows more than 5% with the help of electrics

ANDthis year, Europe is selling more cars, with a great boost given by electric models – in the context of the war in the Middle East and consequently rising fuel prices.

Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show that, in the first eight months of the year, 7,546,397 cars were registered in the European Union (more 5.3 percent) and 9.192,528 cars in enlarged Europe (more 5.8 percent) – which also includes the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) and the United Kingdom.

Fully electric cars make up roughly a seventh of sales, showing growth in homologous terms higher than hybrid and hybrid plug-in models (44.9 percent in the EU and 38.8 percent in all countries). Combustion is already shrinking (gasoline and diesel). The best sellers were electric hybrids (which exceeded 2.7 million enrollments).

Trend also seen in August

The upward trend in sales is also seen in August monthly data, when the EU had the register of 708,211 new cars (up by 4.5 percent) and all the countries examined enrolled 832,637 cars (up by 5.3 percent).

Once again, the electrics were highlighted, with an arrow rise compared to the same month of 2025 (over 62 percent in the EU and 52 percent in all countries). They were only behind hybrid electric models and gasoline, but they showed the greatest growth.

Volkswagen leads sales

The Volkswagen Group is leading the new enrollments at all levels. In the EU, it headed the first eight months of the year (1.998,648 cars) and the month of August (189.705), with its Volkswagen brand being the most sold.

The same is true by extending the analysis to cover the EFTA countries and the United Kingdom, with the Volkswagen Group leading the accumulated year (2.359,023 registered vehicles) and August (210,818). Volkswagen is also the best-selling brand in both periods.