In 2024, 1.45 million new battery-only electric passenger cars were registered across the EU, reflecting a 6.1% drop from the 1.55 million registrations in 2023. This brought the total number of battery-only electric cars on EU roads to 5.87 million—a 32.4% rise from the 4.43 million figure in 2023. The share of battery-only electric vehicles among all new registrations fell to 13.6% in 2024, down one percentage point from 14.6% in 2023, according to information published by Eurostat.

Hybrid growth offsets BEV slowdown

Although new registrations of battery-electric vehicles declined, the broader market saw robust growth thanks to hybrids. Newly registered non plug in hybrid passenger cars surged by 12.7% in 2024, reaching about 3.95 million, up from 3.50 million in 2023. Meanwhile, plug in hybrids saw a contraction of 6.5%, closely mirroring the drop in BEV sales.

Stark differences across member states

Adoption of battery only electric vehicles remains highly uneven across the EU. At one extreme, Denmark led with over half (51.3%) of new registrations being BEVs, followed by Malta (37.7%) and Sweden (34.9%). At the lower end, Croatia recorded just 1.8%, Slovakia 2.4%, and Poland 3.0%.

The electric commercial vehicle segment shows both sharp gains and ongoing decline. Heavy electric trucks posted the strongest increase, up 39.7% year-on-year, followed by road tractors (+35.5%) and motor coaches and buses (+28.2%). Electric light trucks, on the contrary, fell by 10.8%. Overall, registrations of battery-electric commercial vehicles slipped 6.8%.

A mature fleet despite sales dip

Even with the decline in new BEV registrations, the total fleet continues to expand sharply—up 32.4% in just one year. This steady rise in the total number of battery-only electric cars underscores ongoing momentum in the transition to low emission mobility, helped in part by hybrid volume growth.

Challenges and recovery outlook

Market analysts point to inconsistent policy signals and the removal of incentives in key countries like Germany as key reasons for the BEV slowdown. Germany’s subsidy withdrawal triggered a rush of registrations in 2023 followed by a sharp drop in 2024. Nonetheless, forecasts suggest BEV market share could recover to 20–24% by 2025, driven by the arrival of more affordable electric models and stricter emissions regulations.