Chinese manufacturers and battery electric vehicles drove modest growth in Europe’s new car market in November, according to new data from JATO Dynamics.
Despite an overall decline in Tesla registrations and a 39% year-on-year drop for the Model Y, the Tesla Model 3 still held onto the top spot as the most registered battery electric vehicle (BEV) in November.
BYD more than doubled its registrations compared with November 2024, recording 21,043 units.
Leapmotor registered 6,022 units in November and 26,538 year to date, matching volumes achieved by DS and overtaking Lancia, Maserati and Abarth within the Stellantis portfolio.
Outside China, Cupra continued to grow, registering 25,536 units in November, up 26% year on year.
Volkswagen was the most registered BEV manufacturer with 23,507 units, while Renault saw registrations rise 90% to 18,826 units, driven by demand for the Renault 5.
Brands recording the largest declines compared with November 2024 included Porsche, Jeep and Land Rover.
Other high-performing BEV models included the Skoda Elroq, Tesla Model Y and Renault 5. The only new entrant in the top ten was the BYD Dolphin Surf, which ranked tenth with 5,890 registrations.
BEV led demand across Europe
A total of 1,075,922 new passenger cars were registered across Europe in November 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.3%.
Battery electric vehicles were the main contributor to demand.
BEV registrations reached 252,336 units in November, up 37% year on year and more than 27,000 units higher than in October.
BEVs accounted for 23.5% of all registrations, an increase of 5.9 percentage points compared with November 2024.
Plug-in hybrids recorded the second strongest growth by powertrain, with registrations up 35% to 113,019 units, giving the segment a 10.5% market share.
Growth was supported by models including the Volkswagen Golf and Tayron, Audi A5 and A3 PHEV, BYD Seal U and Jaecoo 7.
Internal combustion engine vehicles were the only powertrain to decline.
Registrations fell 20% year on year, although ICE models still accounted for 30.6% of the market with 329,064 units registered.
Daniele Ministeri, senior consultant at JATO Dynamics, said: “Even though EU CO2 penalties are now being assessed over a three-year period, OEMs are continuing to prioritise BEVs because they are essential for lowering average fleet emissions and avoiding regulatory fines.
“Meanwhile, countries such as Italy have introduced new EV incentives, and EV charging infrastructure is continuously improving, albeit slowly.
“These factors are increasing the volume of BEV registrations. Despite ICE vehicles being the most registered powertrain in November 2025, registrations are continuing to decline.”