A March were registered in Western Europe (EU+EFTA+UK) 1.422.628 auto, 2,8% more than in the same month in 2024. But in the first quarter of the year – according to data from theThat, the association of European manufacturers – registrations were 3.382.057 with a drop of 0,4% on the same period in 2024.
EU Car Registrations: What Hybrids and Electrics Do
In the first quarter of 2025, sales of new battery-powered electric cars grew by 23,9% to 412.997 units, capturing 15,2% of the total EU market share, according to ACEA. Three of the four largest EU markets, which account for 63% of all battery electric car registrations, recorded solid growth: Germany (+ 38,9%), Belgium (+ 29,9%) and Netherlands (+7,9%). In contrast to the France, which recorded a decrease of 6,6%.
The data of the first quarter 2025 They also showed a 20,7% increase in new registrations hybrid electric cars in the EU, driven by significant growth in the four main markets: France (+47,5%), Spain (+36,6%), Italy (+15,3%) and Germany (+10,5%). This led to 964.108 units registered in the first quarter of 2025, equivalent to 35,5% of the EU market share.
The registrations of plug-in hybrid electric cars grew by 1,1% in the first quarter of 2025, reaching a total of 207.048 units. This was mainly driven by significant volume increases in key markets such as Germany (+41,8%) and Spain (+30,7%). As a result, plug-in hybrid electric cars accounted for 7,6% of total registrations in the EU, up from 7,4% in the first quarter of 2024. Furthermore, in March 2025 the year-on-year change recorded an increase of 17,1% for battery electric cars and 23,9% for hybrid cars, while plug-in hybrids recorded a growth of 12,4%.
Car registrations: Stellantis down
In March 2025, the group Stellantis registered 215.190 cars in Europe (EU27+EFTA+UK), down 5,9% compared to the same month a year ago. Market share fell from 16,5% to 15,1%. This is also indicated by ACEA, adding that in the first quarter of 2025, the group's registrations were 525.283, down 12,2% on the year, with market share falling from 17,6% to 15,5%.
Movements in line also in the European Union alone, where Stellantis registrations in March were 173.080 (-8,4%), with a share down 18,3% to 16,8%. In the first quarter of 2025, registrations of the group born from the merger between FCA and PSA in the EU were 450.814, down 14% on the year, with a share down to 16,6% from 18,9%.
The Stellantis group remains second in terms of market share both in Europe and in the EU, behind the group Volkswagen and before Renault.
More specifically, the Volkswagen group recorded a slight increase of almost 5%, while BMW recorded a modest increase of 0,4%. Mercedes-Benz, instead, recorded a decrease of 6,2%.
Car registrations: Tesla sales plummet
According to Acea, furthermore, sales of Tesla in the EU market continued to decline in the first quarter of 2025, with registrations down 45% year-on-year. This marks a persistent negative trend for the American car manufacturer owned by the billionaire Elon Musk, although the decline has slowed slightly since the beginning of the year. Between January and February, registrations were down 49% year-on-year.
Japanese Cars: March Sales Boom in the US
Japanese car manufacturers Toyota, Nissan e Honda have announced that their car sales soared in March in the United States, as consumers rushed to buy in view of the duties imposed by Washington. Since early April, the Trump administration has imposed 25% tariff surcharges on all vehicles imported into the United States, a blow to Japanese manufacturers, for whom the American market remains crucial. But as the prospect of tariff barriers and the likelihood that they would quickly affect sales prices became clearer in March, American buyers sped up their purchases to avoid their removal.
As a result, in March, the last month spared from border duties, the world's leading automaker, Toyota, recorded a 7,7% jump in annual sales in the United States, with approximately 231.300 vehicles sold. This increase is explained by “continued robust demand as well as an acceleration in sales prior to the entry into force of customs duties,” the Japanese group acknowledged.
Overall, last month the Toyota global sales rose 7,9% year-on-year. Toyota has been particularly hard hit by Washington's tariff offensive: in 2024, it generated a quarter of its global sales in the United States, where it registered 2,33 million vehicles, of which 1 million were imported, mainly from Japan and Mexico.
The Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, posted a strong recovery in March, with its U.S. sales rising 13,2 percent year-on-year to nearly 147.800 vehicles, compared with a 3,1 percent increase in global sales. In addition, both Toyota and Honda said they significantly increased shipments of cars from Japan to the U.S., bolstering their U.S. inventories that have escaped price premiums.
For his part, unlike his compatriots, the Nissan, a struggling and indebted manufacturer, has suffered a sharp decline in sales in the United States, due to the lack of hybrid models popular with American consumers. But it also benefited from the car-buying frenzy of its American customers in March, with its domestic sales rebounding 9,9% year-over-year to nearly 110.000 units, even as its global sales fell 3,4% overall, driven in particular by a 26% decline in China.
But Toyota production down: first decline in 4 years
However, the safety testing scandal weighs on Toyota's results, which for the first time in 4 years announces a global production decline. in 12 months ended at the end of March The world's largest automaker recorded a decline of 2,9% compared to the previous year, to 9,68 million units, while global sales fell by 0,3% to 10,27 million (but – as mentioned above – in the month of March alone global output increased thanks to the acceleration of demand in anticipation of the duties announced by Trump).
The investigation and inspection by the Japanese Ministry of Transport – which involved the falsification of specific approval tests, also caused thetemporary discontinuation of some models, also impacting domestic production, which fell 2,2 percent to 3,24 million cars. Toyota sold 1,51 million cars in Japan, down 1,6 percent from the previous year, while foreign sales remained unchanged at 8,77 million cars. At the regional level, production and sales in North America remained virtually unchanged at 2,07 million units and 2,73 million units, respectively, with the impact of recalls of some models being offset by robust demand for hybrid vehicles.
In China, where the automaker faces stiff price competition from local manufacturers, production fell 7,8 percent to 1,55 million cars, while sales fell 5,9 percent to 1,79 million vehicles.
