Europe's new car registrations grew at a slower pace in April amid heightened geopolitical risks, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed on Wednesday.
New car registrations grew 5.1% year-on-year in April, slower than the 12.5% increase in March.
Italy registered a strong sales growth of 11.6%, followed by an 8.4% rise in Spain. Car sales in Germany grew 2.7% in April, while France reported a 0.3% drop.
During January to April, new car registrations increased 4.2% from the same period last year.
The lobby said the market continued to benefit from strong consumer demand for a range of electrified technologies, supported by new and revised tax benefits and incentive schemes across major European countries.
During the first four months of the year, battery-electric cars accounted for 19.7% of the EU market. Three of the four largest EU markets, together represented 64% of all battery-electric car registrations.
Hybrid-electric cars captured 38.2% of the market and remained the preferred choice among consumers in the European Union. On the other hand, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars declined to 30.2% down from 38.1%.
Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars continued to grow, reaching 364,067 units in the April. New plug-in-hybrid electric cars represent 9.6% of EU registrations compared to 7.9% in 2025.
