European manufacturers reported strong demand for electric vehicles in November 2025, with more than 252,000 new battery electric cars registered during the month. The surge helped drive overall market growth even as traditional fuel vehicles saw registrations drop.
Full electric vehicles recorded a 37% year-on-year increase across Europe and captured 23.5% market share – up 5.9 percentage points from November 2024, according to data from JATO Dynamics.
Daniele Ministeri, senior consultant at JATO Dynamics, said manufacturers kept prioritizing electric vehicles despite political uncertainty around planned combustion engine bans.
The November figures cover 28 European nations including the UK, where electric vehicles took half of all new car registrations.
Plug-in hybrids recorded the second-strongest growth with 113,019 units sold – a 35% increase that delivered 10.5% market share.
Traditional petrol and diesel vehicles dropped 20% compared to November 2024. The powertrains still accounted for 30.6% of registrations with 329,064 units, but the decline continued a trend that’s persisted throughout 2025.
Regulatory Pressure Drives Manufacturer Focus
“Even though EU CO2 penalties are now being assessed over a three-year period, OEMs are continuing to prioritise BEVs because they’re essential for lowering average fleet emissions and avoiding regulatory fines,” Ministeri said.
He pointed to new EV incentives in countries like Italy and gradually improving charging infrastructure as factors boosting electric vehicle registrations.
Italy’s incentive program offers up to €11,000 off new electric vehicle purchases, which helped drive demand there alongside Norway’s market where 98% of November registrations were electric.
Tesla Leads Models But Chinese Brands Gain Ground
The Tesla Model 3 topped individual model registration charts with 11,437 units registered in November. However, Tesla’s overall European performance dropped 13% as Model Y registrations fell 39%.
Chinese manufacturer BYD registered 12,785 electric vehicles in November – part of 21,043 total registrations that more than doubled its year-earlier performance. The company climbed to seventh place for EV registrations.
Leapmotor, owned by Stellantis, registered 6,022 vehicles in November with 5,446 being all-electric. Its 26,500 registrations through the first 11 months exceeded Stellantis stablemates DS, Lancia, Maserati and Abarth.
European manufacturers still dominated overall EV registrations though.
Volkswagen led with 23,507 units – a 29% increase – ahead of Tesla’s 22,342 registrations.
Renault saw registrations jump 90% year-on-year as 18,826 customers chose from its expanding electric lineup.
BMW, Skoda and Audi recorded growth of 26%, 75% and 48% respectively as their new electric models reached European markets.
The strong November performance suggests European electric vehicle adoption continues accelerating despite ongoing political debates about combustion engine phase-out timelines. Manufacturers appear committed to electric vehicle strategies driven by both regulatory requirements and improving consumer acceptance.
