Car sales first quarter 2025: big drop and hybrid beats EV!

Official figures

In March 2025, 31,515 new cars were registered, down 14.8% from March last year (36,994 registrations). This is according to official figures from RAI Association, BOVAG and RDC published today.

Multiple causes

“This decline has several causes,” said Bert de Kroon, president of BOVAG Autodealers. “On the one hand, the substantial catch-up from the end of last year is now causing a dip in new sales. In addition, we see consumer confidence declining ,persistent inflation is affecting affordability and high interest rates are limiting financeability. Add to that the uncertainty surrounding EVs and global developments, and you can understand why sales are under pressure.”

Collapse of electric cars

Over the entire first quarter, the total number of EV registrations came to 32,439, representing an increase of 7.9% over last year (30,057 registrations). This brings the market share of electric cars in the first quarter to 35.3%, hybrid cars remain popular with 46.8% market share (42,931 registrations), while the market share of gasoline cars drops further to 16.5% (15,157) registrations).

Electric driving is not a given

Huub Dubbelman, chairman of RAI Association’s Passenger Cars and Light Commercial Vehicles section, says: “Despite positive figures for electric cars, the ingrowth of electric driving is also being held back by the overall decline in the car market. This is happening just when further acceleration is essential. After all, electric driving is still not self-evident; only a small portion of the fleet drives completely emission-free. If tax incentives are scaled back even further after 2026, we risk losing the momentum of sustainability. The government must therefore continue to invest in stimulating electric driving.”

TOP 5 MOST REGISTERED BRANDS IN MARCH 2025

1. Kia (2,859 registrations, 9.1% market share)
2. Toyota (2,381 registrations, 7.6% market share)
3. BMW (2,212 registrations, 7.0% market share)
4. Renault (2,177 registrations, 6.9% market share)
5. Volkswagen (2,079 registrations, 6.6% market share)

TOP 5 MOST REGISTERED MODELS IN MARCH 2025

1. Kia EV3 (1,024 registrations, 3.2% market share)
2. Tesla Model 3 (792 registrations, 2.5% market share)
3. Tesla Model Y (734 registrations, 2.3% market share)
4. Citroën C3 (653 registrations, 2.1% market share)
5. Toyota Aygo X (592 registrations, 1.9% market share)

TOP 5 MOST REGISTERED EV MODELS IN MARCH 2025

1. Kia EV3 (1,024 registrations, 9.1% market share)
2. Tesla Model 3 (792 registrations, 7.1% market share)
3. Tesla Model Y (734 registrations, 6.6% market share)
4. Citroën C3 (580 registrations, 5.2% market share)
5. BMW IX1 (484 registrations, 4.3% market share)

FUEL TYPE RATIO IN MARCH 2025

1. Hybrid (15,707 registrations, 49.8% market share)
2. Full EV (11,195 registrations, 35.5% market share)
3. Gasoline (4,064 registrations, 12.9% market share)
4. Diesel (401 registrations, 1.3% market share)
5. LPG (148 registrations, 0.5% market share)

Sharp decline in light commercial vehicle registrations

The first quarter saw a sharp decline in light commercial vehicle registrations. Last period, 5,144 light commercial vehicles were registered, down 76.5% from last year (21,857 registrations). In March 2025, registrations dropped a whopping 81.6% (1,558 registrations) from last (8,482 registrations). A decline that can be explained by the peak in 2024 ahead of the introduction of BPM and access requirements to zero-emission zones. Nearly 60,000 light commercial vehicles were sold in the last quarter of 2024, a fourfold increase from the same period in 2023.

“The government must therefore continue to invest in promoting electric driving.”