The share of newly registered battery-only electric passenger cars is rising significantly in many European countries, but their share of the total car fleet remains very low in many countries.
The number of newly registered battery-only electric passenger cars has risen rapidly across Europe in recent years. In the EU alone, around 1.9 million new battery-electric cars were registered in 2025.
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As a result, battery-only electric vehicles are taking an increasingly large share of new car registrations. In 2025, they accounted for 17.3% of all new passenger cars registered in the EU. In several European countries, the share is higher than one in three according to Eurostat.
But the transition is far from even across the continent. Some countries are moving towards electric cars much faster than others.
So, how is the number of battery-only electric passenger cars evolving across Europe? Which countries have the highest shares? And how many battery-electric cars are now on the road in each European country?
Ten years ago, in 2015, only around 47,000 battery-only electric passenger cars were newly registered in the EU. The number passed half a million in 2020 and climbed to almost 1.9 million in 2025 according to Eurostat.
Their share of newly registered passenger cars has risen sharply as well. Battery-only electric cars accounted for just 0.4% of new registrations in 2015 and 1.9% in 2019. By 2025, the share had reached 17.3%.
Among 38 European countries, including EU members, EU candidate countries, EFTA members and the UK, Germany recorded the highest number of newly registered battery-only electric passenger cars in 2025, at around 545,000.
The UK followed closely with about 473,000, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
France ranked third with around 331,000, followed by Turkey with 187,000.
Norway recorded around 173,000 new battery-only electric passenger cars, while the Netherlands had 156,000 and Belgium 144,000.
Denmark, with 126,000, and Spain, with 105,000, also surpassed the 100,000 mark.
By contrast, Italy, which is one of Europe’s five largest economies, registered only around 95,000 battery-only electric passenger cars in 2025.
Electric cars exceed one in three in several countries
Of course, the share of battery-only electric passenger cars among all newly registered cars provides a more meaningful picture of how quickly each country is making the transition.
Norway is a clear outlier: more than 95% of newly registered passenger cars in 2025 were battery-only electric. Two other Nordic countries followed, with Denmark at 67.8% and Iceland at 41.2%.
Battery-only electric cars also accounted for more than one in three new registrations in Malta (37.6%), Finland (37.2%), Sweden (36.4%) and Belgium (34.1%).
Among Europe’s five largest economies, the UK had the highest share of battery-only electric passenger cars in new registrations in 2025 at 23.4%.
France followed at 19.6%, just ahead of Germany at 19.1%.
Spain and Italy, however, remained significantly below the EU average of 17.3%. Battery-only electric cars accounted for just 8.7% of new passenger car registrations in Spain and 6.1% in Italy.
The share of electric cars remains particularly low in several Eastern European and Balkan countries, as well as in many EU candidate countries. Turkey is a notable exception, with battery-only electric cars accounting for 16.7% of new registrations.
The share is below 2% in Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Electric cars remain a small share of Europe’s car fleet
When it comes to the share of battery-only electric cars in the total passenger car fleet, the picture changes considerably. No country exceeds one in three.
Norway remains the clear leader, with battery-only electric cars making up 32% of all passenger cars in 2025. Denmark follows at 17.9%.
Luxembourg (8.7%), Sweden (8.6%) and the Netherlands (7.2%) complete the top five.
Across the EU as a whole, however, battery-only electric cars account for just 2.9% of the total passenger car fleet.
Among the EU’s ‘Big Four’ economies, Germany has the highest share at 4.1%, closely followed by France at 3.9%.
The share falls to 1.1% in Spain and just 0.9% in Italy.
Overall, battery-only electric cars account for less than 1% of the passenger car fleet in 16 of the 37 European countries.
