Europe’s new passenger car market grew 6.8% in April to reach 1.15 million registered units, fuelled by surging demand for electric vehicles.

New car market growth remains firmly driven by electrified powertrains

The fresh data from Jato Dynamics shows growth remains firmly driven by electrified powertrains, reinforcing that the market’s recovery is being shaped by structural shifts rather than cyclical demands.

Registrations of BEVs grew significantly, climbing +38% year-on-year (YoY) to 254k units, increasing their market share to 22.2% (vs c.17.2% last year). Growth is broad-based across both legacy OEMs – Volkswagen Group, BMW, Renault, Mercedes – and Chinese manufacturers, with several new high-volume entries such as the Škoda Elroq and Renault 5 scaling rapidly.

PHEVs also outperformed the overall market, rising +22% YoY to 119k units, supported by continued fleet demand, tax advantages and strong participation from premium and Chinese brands.

Meanwhile, HEVs post solid growth of +14%, maintaining relevance particularly in markets where full electrification remains slower.

In contrast, pure combustion registrations continued to decline sharply, down 16.6% YoY, confirming ongoing structural contraction across all major markets.

Mild hybrids (MHEVs) continue to act as a “stabilising bridge technology”, growing +11% YoY to 271K units and remaining the largest electrified segment by volume. They’re particularly in demand within Southern and Eastern Europe, compensating for the accelerating decline of pure ICE vehicles.

Jato Dynamics emphasised that April’s results underline two clear trends. Brand performance highlights strong polarisation between electrification leaders and combustion-exposed OEMs, with growth concentrated among players scaling BEVs or offering competitive multi-powertrain portfolios.

Steffen Michulski, regional consultant Europe, said: “Growth in Europe’s car market is now being driven almost entirely by electrified vehicles, while demand for combustion engines continues to decline. This is creating a clear divide, with brands that can scale competitive electric models gaining share, and those still reliant on ICE steadily falling behind.”

Analysing BEV performance, results varied significantly across OEMs. Mercedes (+78%), BYD (+75%) and Renault (+64%) recorded strong growth, highlighting increasing momentum among both legacy and challenger brands. In contrast, Audi grew more modestly (+9%), while Volkswagen remained broadly stable (-1%), underperforming faster-growing competitors.

Overall, Volkswagen continues to be the most-registered car make (c.119.8k units), though slightly declining YoY (-0.7%), reflecting continued combustion pressure despite strong BEV contributions from VW, Škoda and Audi. Škoda stands out as a key growth driver within the group (+10.7% YoY), fuelled by the success of the Elroq and Enyaq, both among the top BEVs in Europe.

Mercedes-Benz is one of the strongest performers among large premium OEMs (+8.0% YoY), driven by BEVs – notably the CLA – and strong SUV performance, although some EQ models still show uneven results.