Thermal vehicles sales down sharply in China and Europe, more moderate in the USA and Japan
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Thermal vehicles sales down sharply in China and Europe, more moderate in the USA and Japan
- Global sales of thermal cars – internal combustion engines, possibly with low hybridisation (MHEV) – reached 12,343,640 units in the first four months of 2025, which represents a decrease of 4.2% compared to the first four months of 2024, when they reached 12,889,899 units. This represents a decrease of 546,259 fewer units registered in the first four months of 2025, while the global car market is stable.
- China is the country that has seen the sharpest decline in sales of combustion-engine vehicles over the past five years, demonstrating its ability to transition from combustion engines to hybrid and electric engines more quickly than others. Since the summer of 2024, the share of combustion-engine vehicles has declined from 95% in 2019 to 50% of the Chinese market, while sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles have exploded over the past five years.
- Europe recorded the second most significant decline in sales of thermal cars behind China, since the share of thermal cars fell from 95% in 2019 to around 65% in 2025. Sales of battery electric cars, plug-in hybrids or non-plug-in hybrids having been able to establish themselves on the European market, but less strongly than in China.
- The United States is showing a more moderate decline in sales of thermal cars, their market share having fallen from more than 95% in 2019 to around 80% in 2025, with battery electric and hybrid cars having less success than in China or Europe.
- Japan finally shows a very moderate drop in sales of thermal cars, their share having fallen from a little over 70% in 2019 to a little over 60%, battery electric and rechargeable hybrid cars having no success due in particular to the domination of full hybrid vehicles already well established in 2019 (more than 25% of market share).
2025: F-HEV sales stable in Japan and China, increasing in Europe and the USA
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2025: F-HEV sales stable in Japan and China, increasing in Europe and the USA
- Global sales of full hybrid vehicles (F-HEVs) reached 1,851,314 units in the first four months of 2025, representing a 25% increase compared to the first four months of 2024, when they did not exceed 1,485,754 units. This represents an additional 365,560 F-HEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, while the global automotive market is stable.
- China sees F-HEV sales reaching 289,957 registered units in the first four months of 2025, compared to 200,521 in the first four months of 2024, representing a 3.4% share of the local market.
- Europe is doing better than China, with 449,810 F-HEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, compared to 384,202 in the first four months of 2024, representing a 10.1% share of the local market.
- The United States is at a better level than Europe in terms of quantities sold (less in market share), with 631,723 F-HEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, compared to 442,956 in the first four months of 2024, representing 11.7% of the local market share.
- But Japan is outpacing all its rivals in terms of F-HEV sales, registering 479,824 vehicles of this type in the first four months of 2025 compared to 458,075 in the first four months of 2024, representing a market share of 34.5%. It seems that this strong demand for F-HEVs has prevented the development of BEV and PHEV sales in Japan for years. However, the market share of F-HEVs seems to stabilize in Japan in 2025, as in China. Conversely, this share will increase in Europe and the United States in 2025.
2025: BEV sales up in China, stable in Europe, down in the USA
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2025: BEV sales up in China, stable in Europe, down in the USA
- Global sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) reached 3,650,636 units in the first four months of 2025, representing an increase of 37.7% compared to the first four months of 2024, when the figure did not exceed 2,650,288 units. This represents an additional one million BEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, while the global automotive market is stable, due to uncertainties regarding the economic situation caused by the protectionism of States wishing to challenge the rules of international trade.
- In this context, China is increasing its lead over other countries with 2,109,406 BEVs in the first four months of 2025, compared to 1,351,906 in the first four months of 2024, approaching 25% of the local market share.
- Europe ranks second behind China, with 758,185 BEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, compared to 593,301 in the first four months of 2024, representing a 17% share of the local market.
- The United States ranks third, with 407,756 BEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, compared to 368,918 in the first four months of 2024, representing a 7.6% share of the local market.
- While BEV market share in the first four months of 2025 is increasing in China and appears stable in Europe, it is declining in the United States month after month, as if the Trump administration's anti-BEV rhetoric is becoming reality.
- In Japan, BEV market share is also declining this year, although it remains very low (16,290 units representing 1.2% of the market share over four months of 2025). Japanese carmakers will have a lot to do to reverse this trend.
2025: PHEV sales down in China, stable in Europe and the USA
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2025: PHEV sales down in China, stable in Europe and the USA
- Global sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) reached 2,024,770 units in the first four months of 2025, representing a 29% increase compared to the first four months of 2024, when the sales volume was only 1,571,187 units. This represents nearly half a million additional PHEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, while the global automotive market is stable, due to uncertainties regarding the economic situation caused by the protectionist tendencies of states wishing to challenge international trade rules.
- In this context, China sees PHEV sales reach 1,330,079 registered units in the first four months of 2025, compared to 1,026,071 in the first four months of 2024, approaching 15% of the local market share.
- Europe ranks second behind China, with 365,607 PHEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, compared to 327,558 in the first four months of 2024, representing an 8.2% share of the local market.
- The United States ranks third, with 114,623 PHEVs registered in the first four months of 2025, compared to 107,373 in the first four months of 2024, representing a 2.1% share of the local market.
- While PHEV market share in China is declining in the first four months of 2025, it remains stable in Europe, albeit at a very different level. The number of PHEV sales in the US is much lower than in Europe, confirming that this type of engine is not very popular in the United States.
- In Japan, the PHEV market share is declining this year, while it was already extremely low (15,544 units representing 1.1% market share over four months of 2025).
Chinese car sales reached 208,000 units in Europe in the first 4 months of 2025
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Chinese car sales reached 208,000 units in Europe in the first 4 months of 2025
- Despite the additional tariffs applied to battery electric Chinese cars, sales of thermal and electrified (BEV, PHEV, F-HEV) Chinese cars in Europe (30 countries = EU + United Kingdom + Switzerland + Norway) continued to increase in 2025, with 208,000 units sold in the first four months of 2025, compared to 115,000 in the first four months of 2024, representing an increase of more than 80% over the period. At this rate, sales of Chinese cars in Europe (not including European cars imported from China) could represent between 600,000 and 700,000 units over the whole of 2025, compared to 417,000 in 2024, 368,000 in 2023, 200,000 in 2022, 82,000 in 2021 and 36,000 in 2020. It should be remembered that some Chinese models are now coming out of factories located in Europe (CKD from Spain, Italy) but still in small proportions.
- Sales of Chinese battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased by 40% in the first four months of 2025 , compared to the first four months of 2024. full-hybrid (F-HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles saw the highest sales growth, but their cumulative sales volume represents less than the sales volume of BEVs: 66,305 units compared to 68,236 in the first four months of 2025. Chinese pure thermal vehicles (including MHEVs) represent the largest share of Chinese car sales in 2025, with 74,505 units, up 24% from 2024.
- Overall, Chinese car sales in Europe are divided into three relatively comparable parts : on the one hand, thermal cars, on the other hand, battery electric cars and finally, hybrid cars (HEV and PHEV).
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