A third car out of every six newly registered passenger vehicles in the European Union is now an electric car. According to findings released by Eurostat, and reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday, purely electric vehicles accounted for a maximum share of 17.3 percent of all new registrations across the EU in 2025.
This figure represents a significant increase in the adoption of pure electric automobiles within the Union over the past decade, climbing from just 0.4 percent in 2015. For context, 42.4 percent of new vehicle registrations were hybrid models, while pure petrol and diesel cars followed at 27.3 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively. Other fuel types, such as liquefied or natural gas, played a minor role in the overall market.
When examining individual country performance for 2025, Germany registered a slightly higher share of pure electric vehicles at 19.1 percent, though this still placed it significantly behind several other nations. Denmark led the EU in terms of EV adoption with 67.8 percent of new registrations being electric, followed by the Netherlands at 40.2 percent and Malta at 37.6 percent. Conversely, the lowest shares were recorded in Croatia (1.9 percent), Slovakia (4.7 percent), and Bulgaria (4.9 percent).
Outside the EU, Norway demonstrated remarkable leadership in electrification, with 95.1 percent of newly registered cars being pure electric in 2025. Experts attribute the wide variations across the continent to factors such as disparities in investment in charging infrastructure and government incentives, including tax benefits or reduced tolls and parking fees implemented by individual member states.
Looking at the absolute sales volume, Germany’s status as the largest car market in the EU is evident in the transition toward electric mobility. Approximately 545,100 electric cars were registered in Germany in 2025. This accounts for 28.9 percent of the total 1.89 million electric vehicles registered across the EU. France followed with a considerable number of 330,900 new electric cars, representing a 17.5 percent share of EU registrations.
