EVs: The 2035 Goal Is Unachievable At The Current Rate

At first glance, the figure seems encouraging, but context is important. According to ACEA data, fully electric cars comprised 15.6% of new registrations in the EU during the first half of 2025, up from 12.5% in 2024. However, this remains low, with nearly 80% of new cars still not fully electric. Gasoline and diesel engines make up 37.8% of the market, while hybrids attract almost 43% of buyers, indicating we are far from the EU’s goal of phasing out combustion engines by 2035.

Inequalities across nations that prevent the shift

In detail, the report published on July 24, 2025, by ACEA highlights a highly fragmented European market. Germany, the leading European market, is showing spectacular growth in electric vehicle sales (+35.1%), followed by Belgium (+19.5%) and the Netherlands (+6.1%). But other major countries are stagnating or declining. This is particularly the case in France, where electric vehicle registrations fell by 6.4% over the same period. The reasons? End of subsidies, uncertainties over ZFE, prices still too high, and a lack of charging stations in certain regions. In a tense economic climate, the purchase price remains the number one arbiter, and 100% electric vehicles are struggling to convince outside of urban centres and company fleets.

The hybrid still gives comfort

The trend toward declining internal combustion engines is clear. In the first half of the year, gasoline car registrations in Europe fell by 21.2%, and diesel vehicles dropped by 28.1%, now representing only 9.4% of the market. Simple hybrids are gaining traction, increasing their market share by 34.8%, with notable rises in France (34.1%), Spain (32.8%), Italy (10%), and Germany (9.9%).

Plug-in hybrids face mixed acceptance: they grew by 55.1% in Germany and 82.5% in Spain but fell by 33.3% in France and 56.7% in Belgium, holding a market share of just 8.4%. The move to 100% electric vehicles remains a distant goal.

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