European car registrations rise 5.3% in August, led by electric vehicles and Chinese brands
European car registrations increased by 5.3% in August, driven by strong demand for electric vehicles and a surge in Chinese brands. This growth reflects a broader continent-wide shift toward cleaner mobility, with Italy continuing to see rising adoption despite financial incentive challenges.
Chinese brands surge in European market
Chinese brands surged, with BYD up 129.4% to 20,845 units. Chinese manufacturers including Geely and Leapmotor have captured a combined 12.3% market share, a jump of 4.2 percentage points from the previous year.
Italy's incentive landscape
The growth in electric vehicle sales has been supported by government measures across the continent. Italy's Ecobonus programme was refinanced for 2025 with nearly €600M in funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Buyers scrapping older vehicles — up to Euro 4 or Euro 5 standard — could access incentives of up to €11,000 for a new electric car. For households with an ISEE under €30,000, the incentive could reach €13,750.
However, by October 2025, funds for electric car incentives in Italy were reported as exhausted. A separate reform to fringe benefit taxation for company cars also took effect, setting rates at 10% for electric vehicles, 20% for plug-in hybrids, and 50% for other fuel types.
A market still in recovery
Despite the August gains, the European car market remains below pre-pandemic levels. Data shows the accumulated registrations for the first eight months of the year are still down 15.1% compared to the same period in 2019.
Registrations of traditional combustion engine vehicles continued their decline. Petrol car registrations fell 23.5% in August compared to the previous year, while diesel dropped 23.1%.
New EU CO2 emission standards that took effect on 1 January 2025 have accelerated the industry's shift. The regulation sets an average emission limit of 93.6 grams per kilometre for new cars, down from 115 g/km in 2024. Manufacturers face fines of €95 for each gram of CO2 exceeding the limit, per vehicle sold.
