Volkswagen overtakes Tesla as biggest seller of EVs in Europe

Tesla’s reign as the best-selling electric vehicle (EV) brand in Europe has ended after Volkswagen posted significant sales growth to return to the number-one spot it last held in 2022, along with becoming Europe’s top-selling auto brand overall for the 21 consecutive year in 2025.

According to Automotive News, Volkswagen sold 274,417 EVs in Europe last year, an increase of 56 per cent year-on-year, while Tesla’s sales fell 27 per cent to 238,765.

It marks a significant turnaround after Volkswagen – which closed several factories in 2025 – was outsold two-to-one in EV sales by Tesla in Europe in 2024.

It also comes as Chinese maker BYD knocked Tesla from the number spot in global EV sales for the first time in 2025.

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The Tesla Model Y remained Europe’s best-selling EV, however, despite a 28 per cent sales decline to 151,331 units, ahead of the Skoda Elroq (94,106), Tesla Model 3 (86,261), and Renault 5 E-Tech (81,517).

Volkswagen filled the next three positions, led by the ID.4 with 80,123 sales (up 23.8 per cent), ahead of an update for the mid-size electric SUV in 2026, while the smaller ID.3 electric hatch (not sold in Australia) was up 44.4 per cent year-on-year to 78,667.

The large ID.7 electric sedan/wagon, currently not sold in Australia, posted the strongest growth at 137.2 per cent, with sales of 76,368.

Automotive News also reported EV sales in Europe grew by around 30 per cent to 2,582,595 units in 2025, according to Dataforce figures which include the UK.

Despite the strong result in Europe, Volkswagen sold 0.2 per cent fewer EVs globally in 2025, with 382,000 deliveries compared to 383,100 in 2024, though EVs accounted for a higher 8.1 per cent share of its 4.73 million total sales – up from 7.9 per cent.

While Volkswagen lost ground in North America and China, where it was down 8.2 and 8.4 per cent respectively, Europe was one of two key growth areas for the German auto giant in 2025.

It also posted an 18.1 per cent improvement in South America, and a 5.1 per cent gain to 1,318,100 sales in Europe, making Volkswagen the region’s top-selling automaker across all powertrain types.

As well as topping EV sales on the continent, the Volkswagen sold more plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), more petrol-powered vehicles and more diesels than its rivals.

It beat second-placed Peugeot in petrol sales, Mercedes-Benz in diesel sales and BMW in PHEV sales, while the remaining powertrain category – full hybrids – was led by Toyota.

In Australia, Volkswagen finished 2025 as the 10th-best seller of EVs, although it posted strong EV sales growth and placed 14th overall, ahead of Tesla and Mercedes-Benz.

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