New passenger car registrations in Bulgaria in 2025 up 15.1% y/y – sofiaglobe.com
Bulgaria’s independent English-language news and features website.
There were 49 419 new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria in 2025, an increase of 15.1 per cent compared with 2024, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, ACEA, said on January 27.
Of the new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria in 2025, a total of 38 875 were petrol cars, 5313 diesel, 2420 battery-electric, 2045 hybrid-electric, 566 plug-in hybrid and 12 “others”, a category that includes fuel-cell electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles, LPG, E85/ethanol, and other fuels.
In 2025, new EU car registrations increased by 1.8 per cent compared to the same period last year, ACEA said.
However, overall volumes remain well below pre-pandemic levels, the association said.
The battery-electric car market share in the EU reached 17.4 per cent, in line with projections for the year, yet still a level that leaves room for growth to stay on track with the transition. Hybrid-electric vehicles lead as the most popular power type choice among buyers, with plug-in hybrids consolidating their position in the market.
Battery-electric cars accounted for 17.4 per cent of the EU market share in 2025, an increase from the low baseline of 13.6 per cent one year earlier.
Hybrid-electric car registrations captured 34.5 per cent of the market, remaining the preferred choice among consumers in the EU. Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 35.5 per cent, down from 45.2 per cent in 2024.
In 2025, a total of 1 880 370 new battery-electric cars were registered, capturing 17.4 per cent of the EU market share.
The four largest markets in the EU, which together account for 62 per cent of batteryelectric car registrations, saw growth: Germany (+43.2 per cent), the Netherlands (+18.1 per cent), Belgium (+12.6 per cent), and France (+12.5 per cent).
January to December 2025 figures also showed new EU hybrid-electric car registrations rising to 3 733 325 units, driven by growth in the four biggest markets: Spain (+23.1 per cent), France (+21.6 per cent), Germany (+8 per cent), and Italy (+7.9 per cent).
Hybrid-electric models account for 34.5 per cent of the total EU market. Registrations of plug-in-hybrid electric cars continue to grow, reaching 1 015 887 units during the same period. This was driven by increases in volume for key markets such as Spain (+111.7 per cent), Italy (+86.6 per cent), and Germany (+62.3 per cent).
Therefore, plug-in-hybrid electric cars now represent 9.4 per cent of EU car registrations, up from 7.2 per cent last year.
The year-over-year (YOY) variation for December 2025 showed a surge of 51 per cent for battery-electric and 36.7 per cent for plug-in-hybrid electric cars, while hybrid-electric recorded a 5.8 per cent increase.
By the end of 2025, petrol car registrations dropped by 18.7 per cent, with all major markets experiencing decreases. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 32 per cent, followed by Germany (-21.6 per cent), Italy (-18.2 per cent), and Spain (-16 per cent).
With 2 880 298 new cars registered in 2025, the market share for petrol fell to 26.6 per cent from 33.3 per cent a year earlier.
The diesel car market continued to decline, with registrations down by 24.2 per cent, resulting in an 8.9 per cent share in 2025.
Moreover, the December 2025 YOY variation showed a 19.2 per cent decline for petrol and 22.4 per cent for diesel, ACEA said.
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