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EV sales have recovered across Europe, with BEV sales up 30% YoY in July. Credit: acilo\/iStock Unreleased\/Getty Images.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s electric vehicle (EV) sales have undergone a U-turn following sluggish performance in 2024<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While consumers are gradually becoming more confident in EVs, with battery ranges increasing and charging infrastructure expanding, the sudden uptick in EV sales is primarily a result of the 2023 EU carbon mandate<\/a>, according to analysts.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tCombine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The regulation requires that, from 2025 to 2029, automakers cut fleet-wide CO\u2082 emissions<\/a> by 15% compared to 2021 levels. It also set additional 2030 and 2035 targets. The move raised concerns within the industry that the timeline would be challenging and that heavy penalties could cause long-term harm. \u00a0<\/p>\n Lobbying resulted in a rollback on penalties announced in May 2025, when the European Council approved an amendment<\/a> providing flexibility via a three-year compliance period for 2025\u201327. The amendment replaced the annual targets with the aim of reducing potential fines. While the apparent leniency caused some controversy, subsequent sales results for EVs in Europe look positive as manufacturers strive to reach the new targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n How the mandate shaped EV sales in 2024 and 2025\u00a0<\/p>\n Research conducted by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, tracked lagging EV sales in 2024 and identified a 6.1% decrease<\/a> in the registration of battery-only electric passenger cars in 2024 compared to 2023, with 1.45 million new registrations, compared to 2023\u2019s 1.55 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n The slowing sales are not necessarily a reflection of market demand, however. Al Bedwell, director of global powertrain at GlobalData, tells Power Technology that the EU\u2019s carbon mandate contributed to slowing EV sales as manufacturers delayed launching new models to the market. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere was little point in OEMs releasing their shiny new BEVs [battery EVs] before the CO\u2082 target period commenced at the start of 2025,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt would be counterproductive as, by the time it mattered, some of the strong sales momentum associated with new models would have already taken place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A lack of new models across the market coincided with a period of fewer incentives for buyers, as many European governments ended subsidies on BEVs. On 31 December 2023, Germany dropped its \u2018Umweltbonus\u2019 subsidy, which had offered grants of up to \u20ac6,000 ($7,058) for EV buyers, resulting in a predictable but significant drop in EV sales. The story was echoed in France, which scaled back its programme<\/a>, limiting subsidies to higher-income buyers and reducing eligible vehicles. Elsewhere, the Netherlands\u2019 EV grant fund was exhausted by November 2024.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Europe\u2019s EV sector has seen an uptick in sales<\/a> since the start of 2025. GlobalData research<\/a> identified that by July, EU and UK BEV sales<\/a> were up 30% year on year (YoY). Bedwell explains that \u201cincentives have come back a bit, but the main reason is \u2018push\u2019 factors from OEMs \u2013 more affordable BEVs with attractive lease deals in response to the CO\u2082 target\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is a judgement echoed by Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility supply chains at T&E, who credits the BEV sector\u2019s recovery to the carbon regulations. \u201cThe EV sales rebound shows that the existing EU target is working. Require carmakers to sell more electric cars and the buyers will come.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There are other factors that have supported increased sales of EVs in Europe, with Bedwell pointing to the expanding public charging infrastructure, improving BEV offerings and an influx of competitive Chinese brands. However, he concludes that the CO\u2082 mandate has impacted sales \u201cgreatly\u201d, adding that \u201cwithout them, many OEMs might not even have entered the BEV space. For most people, internal combustion engine [ICE]-based cars fulfil their needs very well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Which EVs are selling?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Plug-in BEVs and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) were both hit by 2024\u2019s downward sales trend. However, not every EV followed the same trajectory. Non-plug-in hybrids performed strongly, representing a good economy option at a period when consumers across Europe were tightening purse strings, and incentives felt few and far between. Non-PHEVs also offer the advantage of not being dependent on infrastructure, as do full hybrid EVs (FHEVs). Both saw significant growth in 2024 across the EU and UK; GlobalData noted that FHEVs grew 21% YoY and 48V hybrids grew 30% YoY. \u00a0<\/p>\n Now, BEVs are enjoying a recovery and the European market is shifting as a result. In July, the market share of European EVs had increased by 29.4% YoY and GlobalData has noted a democratising trend in the market, with premium brand share having fallen from around 50% in the first half of 2024 to 39% by August 2025. \u00a0<\/p>\n Bedwell expects the trend to continue, commenting: \u201cUntil recently BEV sales were overweight in the premium segment. Of course, that has to change if the entire market is to shift to BEVs, as required by 2035 by EU policymakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur forecasts for BEV sales indicates continued growth as CO\u2082 rules get tougher, technology improves, infrastructure expands and BEV prices come down. However, it may be a bumpy road.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n How the industry feels about the carbon mandate\u00a0<\/p>\n The automotive industry is in general agreement about the need to shift towards EVs, but the carbon mandate, which requires automakers to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035, has been criticised by the European Automobile Manufacturers\u2019 Association (ACEA) as \u201ca regulatory cliff-edge\u201d<\/a> that risks forcing automakers to make decisions that prove to be detrimental in the long-term.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.power-technology.com\/wp-content\/themes\/goodlife-wp-B2B\/assets\/images\/GMS-logo.svg\"){kind=logo}
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