Europe’s new car market down 1.56 million units on 2019
Europe’s new car market fell by 4.4% in June and 0.3% in the first six months of the year, according to new data released by JATO Dynamics.
It reported 1,250,868 sales last month and 6,844,426 year-to-date, which is 1.56 million below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: “Persistently high prices, geopolitical and economic tensions with Europe’s trading partners, and the post-pandemic market reality are behind the decline. Western Europe has lost the equivalent of more than 2.5 million units of annual sales since 2019.”
However, electric vehicle registrations have continued rising with 1,193,397 sales recorded in the first half of the year, a 25% year-on-year increase. That took electric vehicle market share to 17.4% in the first half of 2025, an increase of 3.6% on the same period last year.
Chinese influence
Meanwhile, Chinese brands continue to exert a greater influence on the market with volumes rising by 91% in the first half of the year. Chinese brands now account for 5.1% of all sales, with BYD setting the pace with 70,500 sales, which is a year-on-year increase of 311%, followed by Chery brands Jaecoo and Omoda.
Xpeng has emerged as the most successful high-end Chinese car brand in Europe this year with 8,338 units registered
Strong Chinese sales have come at the expense of western manufacturers, with Stellantis experiencing the largest decrease in market share (16.7% to 15.3%), followed by Tesla (2.4% to 1.6%).
Munoz said: “Stellantis’ woes are a result of two factors: the failure by many of its brands to introduce new models, and its growing focus on BEVs – typically more expensive than ICE models in the new car market.”
