According to data from Acea, the association of the 17 most important European manufacturers of cars, trucks, vans and buses, more than 13 million 271 thousand cars were registered in Europe in 2025, an increase of 2.4 percent compared with 2024. In theory, everything should therefore be going well for European manufacturers, but in reality this is not entirely the case
Market growth is in fact lower than expected—suffice it to say that in 2019, before the pandemic, almost 16 million cars were registered—and it is not evenly distributed across all countries. Part of the growth is also linked to the increasingly strong presence of Chinese brands, which offer vehicles with more than respectable performance and finishing at prices that European manufacturers simply cannot match. Price lists made possible by lower labor costs, lower energy costs, significant state subsidies, and the ability to manufacture without having to worry too much about environmental protection.
It is mainly thanks to Chinese manufacturers that sales of electric cars have grown. They have gained a 17.4 percent market share, meaning that roughly one out of every five new cars is battery-powered. Even in this case, however, there is a certain degree of disappointment among those who had bet heavily on this segment and were therefore expecting higher volumes—especially in light of the strong purchase incentives introduced by various governments.
Not by chance, the Stellantis Group has recently revised its future production plans, returning to a stronger focus on internal combustion engines—petrol, diesel and hybrid—in order to place the customer and their needs back at the center of its commercial offering. A reversal that is unlikely to remain an isolated case, given that 43.9 percent of the market is currently dominated by hybrid powertrains.
Despite the overall growth of the market, the situation for European manufacturers remains difficult, and it can hardly be a consolation that Chinese manufacturers themselves are also facing significant problems. First among them is overproduction, which has pushed price lists downward to the point where cars are sometimes sold below cost simply to maintain sales volumes.
This internal price war risks driving manufacturers without sufficient economies of scale into bankruptcy. In recent times, the Chinese government has attempted to curb the situation by banning sales below production cost.
However, the underlying problem remains: excess production that finds little outlet in exports and cannot be absorbed by the domestic market either. The internal market itself is weakened by low labor wages, which make even the most basic small car seem like a luxury purchase.
As recited in the play Aristodemo by Vincenzo Monti:“If Athens weeps, Sparta does not laugh.”
A theatrical line that effectively summarizes the commercial and industrial climate currently weighing on the entire global automotive sector.
Title: Cars: registrations lower than expected
Author: Furio Oldani
