The European car market has given strong signs of recovery in August. The growth of 5.3% on an annual basis is driven by electricity, while sales of petrol and diesel cars collapse. The Italian market and the Stellantis brands are also good, the latter to the second consecutive positive month after a long period of difficulty.
To help the numbers of the automotive market and above all of electric cars are the Chinese brands, byd in the lead. The giant specialized in battery cars has again exceeded Tesla, which instead continues to collapse, and a market share of 1.3%has been obtained. The arrival of a Chinese brand already known, but new in the car sector: Xiaomi is also official.
How the car market went in August
In August 677,786 cars were sold in Europe, against 643,394 of the same month of 2024. An increase of 5.3%, which reports the sales of 2025 like those of the previous year, canceling the drops of the first eight months. It therefore seems that the European car market has started to grow again, but the pre-plays levels, when almost 900,000 units were sold in a month, are still far away.
Not all countries have contributed to this growth in the same way. The most active markets are:
- Spain with 61,315 units sold and a growth of 17.2% on an annual basis;
- Germany with 207,229 cars sold and a 5% growth on an annual basis.
The results by type of motorization are also very different. The enrollments of electric cars on an annual basis, followed by hybrid ones, are growing by 30.2%, while diesel and especially petrol collapse, -19.7% in the first eight months of the year. These changes have led to a new scenario regarding the registration fees for motorization:
- Electric cars have a share of registrations of 15.8%;
- Hybrid cars have a share of registrations of 34.7%;
- Diesel and petrol combustion cars have a share of enrollments 37.5%.
The arrival of Byd and Xiaomi
The electric car market was also driven by the arrival of Chinese brands. Byd is confirmed as the most active, tripling their registrations in August and reaching 9,130 cars sold. A result also obtained from the promotions, such as the one for 10,000 euros of incentives, which targeted the indecision of the Meloni government. The Chinese giant beat Tesla again, in deep crisis for months, which has registered only 8,220 models, down 39%.
In 2025 Tesla maintains a slight advantage for cars sold on Byd, 85,673 against 67,632, but this could soon change. The two houses are in fact not direct competitors. BYD above all focuses on cars with a low price, with the Dolphin Surf that costs less than 19,000 euros. The less expensive Tesla, the Model 3, costs almost 41,000 euros, double.
In Europe, however, a new threat to the American house, Xiaomi is about to arrive. The company famous for smartphones has developed high -end models in China, in direct competition with Tesla regarding electricity, but also with large European houses such as Mercedes, Audi or Maserati. Models such as the Su7 and Yu7 will arrive in Europe in 2027, and will aim for the same premium customers.
Stellantis continues its recovery
Stellantis also continues its recovery, which began in recent months after a long period of crisis. The group saw the registrations of 3.4% in the EU grow in August, with important contributions from different brands:
- Alfa Romeo, +63.7%;
- Citroën +41.3%;
- Fiat +13.2%.
This success derives above all from the introduction of some new models. For Alfa Romeo, the success of the Junior, while Fiat is benefiting from the arrival in the dealers of the great Panda, to drag growth.
