EU new registrations March 2025: Cupra outclasses Seat

In the first quarter of 2025, the European car market shrank by 1.9 percent compared to the previous year. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), 2,715,008 new passenger cars were registered in the EU in the first three months of the year. Across Europe as a whole, new registrations totaled 3,382,057 cars, representing a decrease of 0.4 percent. For March, the association reports 1,029,519 new registrations in the EU (-0.2%) and 1,422,628 new registrations in Europe as a whole (+2.8%).

The weakening volume markets are responsible for the weak overall performance. The German market shrank by 4.3 percent to 664,571 new registrations in the first quarter. France lost 7.8 percent to 410,085 new registrations. Italy saw a 1.6 percent decline to 44,052 new registrations. Only Spain managed to increase its sales by 14.1 percent to 279,368 new vehicles. Former EU member Great Britain saw a 6.4 percent increase with 580,502 new registrations.

Electric cars performed strongly in the first three months of the year. With 412,997 new registrations, electric vehicles increased by 23.9 percent year-on-year in the EU. Their share of new registrations is 15.2 percent. Hybrid models also performed strongly, increasing by 20.7 percent to 964,108 new registrations in the first quarter. Their share of new registrations is now 35.5 percent. PHEV models are significantly less in demand among new car buyers. The ACEA reported 207,048 new registrations after three months, representing an increase of only 1.1 percent. The share of new registrations for plug-in models is 7.6 percent. Sales of pure combustion engine models are clearly declining. Demand for gasoline-powered vehicles fell by 20.6 percent to 779,817 cars in the first quarter. The share of new registrations is now only 28.7 percent. Diesel vehicles are hit even harder. The association lists only 258,728 new registrations after three months. The decline is 27.1 percent, while the share of new registrations is 9.5 percent.

As in previous months, brands like Tesla and Smart have not been able to benefit from the electric car boom. The American manufacturer's sales fell again by 36 percent in March, with its market share now at just 1.8 percent. Smart lost 76.8 percent compared to the previous year (market share: 0.1 percent). The Chinese SAIC Group is benefiting from the interest in electrified models with its MG brand, which grew by 74.4 percent in March and now claims a market share of 2.2 percent. The March figures show how well the Cupra concept is working at the Spanish VW subsidiary Seat. While Seat's new registrations fell by 11.9 percent to a market share of 1.9 percent, its sporty subsidiary Cupra increased by 55.7 percent, achieving a market share of 2.4 percent.

SAIC and Cupra are also at the forefront when looking at the quarterly results. The Spanish manufacturer increased its market share by 49.1 percent to 2.2 percent. The Chinese even grew by 52.3 percent, giving them a new registration share of 1.9 percent. After the first quarter, the Volkswagen Group remains at the top with a market share of 26.7 percent, ahead of the Stellantis Group with 16.6 percent and the Renault family with 11.5 percent. The strongest individual brand is VW (11.1 percent), ahead of Toyota (8.2 percent), Renault (6.2 percent), Skoda (6.0 percent), Peugeot (5.8 percent), BMW (5.7 percent), and Dacia (5.2 percent). Mercedes, with 4.8 percent, is just ahead of Audi (4.7 percent). The Korean manufacturers Kia and Hyundai are tied at 3.7 percent.