Transport

EU, record electric cars: 720,000 sales in the second quarter

The main challenge remains the creation of a battery value chain that is robust and capable of supporting European car production.

16 January 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The main challenge
EU considers raising tariffs on hybrid cars imported from China

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Europe is trying to keep up in the race to go electric and, in spite of the long, drawn-out negotiations between the automotive industry and Ursula von der Leyen's executive for a softer transition, it is scoring a first peak.

In the second quarter of last year, more than 720,000 new electric and hybrid vehicles were sold on the continent, a 27% increase over the sales recorded between April and June of the previous year.

'An historic record', claims the European Commission in publishing its quarterly report on the European electricity markets.

This translates into a market share of 23%, more than double the performance of the United States (10%) but still within striking distance of China (57%).

Driving the growth is mainly the Northern countries, led by Sweden which - alone - accounted for 62% of the electric or plug-in hybrid cars sold in the quarter.

This is followed by the markets of Denmark (60 per cent), Finland (54 per cent) and the Netherlands (52 per cent), where more than half of sales are of electrified vehicles.

In absolute terms - a reflection of the size of their economies - Germany remains the largest continental market, with over 210,000 electric vehicles registered between April and June 2025.

This was followed by France, where sales exceeded 104,000 units in the same period. The made-in-Europe electric bet, in the forecasts of Berlyamont Palace, will continue.

By 2030 "around 6 million battery electric vehicles will be sold in Europe", Kerstin Jorna, Director General of DG Growth, made the point before the European Parliament.

The main challenge

The main challenge, in his words, remains the creation of a battery value chain that is robust and capable of supporting European car production. In the mid-December automotive package, Brussels announced that it would mobilise EUR 1.5 billion already this year to support European batteries.

And the first announcement, with resources from the European Innovation Fund, is expected to arrive within weeks.

On the strength of the first positive feedback, Brussels continues to push for the strengthening of the entire electric mobility industrial ecosystem.

EU considers raising tariffs on hybrid cars imported from China

Despite the recent anti-dumping agreement found with Beijing to eliminate the existing tariffs, Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné is pressing to extend the tariffs - ranging from 7.8 % to 35.3 % - triggered at the end of 2024 on Chinese e-cars also to hybrid vehicles arriving from the Dragon. They are 'produced under the same conditions' as state maxi-subsidies, pointed out an EU official close to the French, noting therefore that European companies 'need the same protection and level playing field'.

The European Union is considering the introduction of further tariffs on Chinese hybrid vehicles, a measure that could bring the overall rate up to 35.3 per cent. This was reported by the information portal Euractiv, citing European sources.

The issue is being examined by the European Commission, also in light of the significant increase in Chinese hybrid vehicle exports to the EU market over the past year.

"The cabinet is raising the question of why what is valid for electric vehicles should not also apply to hybrid vehicles, which are produced under the same conditions and for which European competitors need the same level of protection and a level playing field," said an official from the office of European Commission Vice-President in charge of prosperity and industrial strategy Stéphane Sejourné, quoted by Euractiv.