Overview

The latest quarter has offered strong evidence that the factors driving EV adoption in Europe are improving. In particular there were signs that the large differential in the price of EVs compared to fossil fuelled cars is at last starting to close.

From this quarter we have added Denmark to the list of markets we index and track. The growth in EV sales there over the last year has been spectacular, making it a market of interest to both EV manufacturers and to policy makers wishing to emulate that success. You can read a fuller profile of the Danish EV market below.

Figures in brackets show change from Q4 2024

The majority of the countries we track saw an increase in their overall EV Index score, with Germany showing the largest positive change (+5). Only Spain saw a minor decrease (-1).

Whilst consumer interest generally strengthened, the ‘North-South’ divide remains very much in evidence with only a minority of Italian and Spanish consumers giving EV purchase serious consideration.

It is in the area of affordability and choice where there was perhaps the largest improvement with an increase in market penetration of recently launched smaller and more affordable vehicles which favourably reduces the average price of this powertrain choice. The models in this category that increased their share of sales across the indexed markets include: the BYD Dolphin, Dacia Spring, Hyundai Inster, Kia EV3, Leapmotor T03, MG MG4, Mini Aceman, Peugeot 208e, and Renault 5 E-Tech.

Future EV models that are just arriving or imminent and which fit into the ‘affordable’ category are listed below in the ‘Future models’ section.

Individual market summaries

• Germany demonstrated strong positive momentum across all indices.
• Spain experienced a slight negative trend in Consumer Interest and its overall EV Index. Infrastructure growth lagged behind the increase in EV registrations.
• France and Italy showed positive growth across all indicators.
• The UK showed consistent positive change apart from infrastructure provision which remained static relative to the expansion of the EV fleet.
• The Netherlands maintained a high EV Index, with moderate increases in most areas. Its score, as ever, was bolstered by the huge investment it has made into the provision of public chargers.
• Denmark saw a large increase in consumer interest and its overall Index score of 100 means that acquiring an EV in that market is now more attractive than purchasing and running its ICE equivalent. Perversely, the basket of EVs we track for price indexing in the Danish market grew more expensive over the quarter as the nation’s affluent buyers continued to show a preference for larger, premium electric models.
• Norway has now almost completed the EV transition with their share of sales topping 90% during the quarter. However there is still room for improvement in the key area of infrastructure although this does not appear to be the ‘deal breaker’ it is purported to be by some energy sector lobbyists.

Registration outcomes

New car registrations in the wider European market (EU+EFTA+the UK) experienced a small decline of 0.4% in the year-to-date. However, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) showed significant growth, winning a 28% increase in sales across the region during the first three months of 2025 to capture a 17% market share. This is a notable increase from a BEV share of 13.2% in the first quarter of last year.

However, the results from the markets we track show marked variation:

Policy developments

Changes to EU CO2 emission targets and UK ZEV mandate

In response to concerted lobbying from the regional automotive industry, the European Commission conceded changes to its emissions mandates, allowing manufacturers to achieve compliance through averaging their CO2 emissions over the three-year period 2025-2027. The announcement, in March, was followed by the launch of the ‘Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive Sector’, a set of strategic initiatives designed to ensure the future competitiveness of the sector so that it can respond both to rapid technological change and new competitive pressures from China and elsewhere.

The EU’s action plan aims to improve the European automotive industry’s global competitiveness.

A key component of these measures is the ‘Battery Booster’ initiative to develop European capacity and self-sufficiency in this critical area of EV technology.

In addition, the EU is opening talks with China to explore setting minimum prices for imported EVs as a replacement to the steep tariffs imposed on Chinese vehicles in October 2024. This measure would further increase the availability of affordable EV options for European consumers.

The shift in EU policy on emission targets was followed by a UK government announcement relaxing its own ZEV mandate to give more time for manufacturers to comply with the measures and reducing the fines they face if they fail.

National policy initiatives

A number of countries have changed their incentives for EV purchase.

France has reduced its EV subsidy budget and is focusing on a leasing scheme for low-income households.

Germany is increasing the tax benefit for company electric cars priced up to a ceiling of €100,000, whilst EVs will be exempt from vehicle tax until 2035.

The Netherlands has introduced the MRB (road tax) on EVs but with a 75% discount to begin with. The discount will be reduced progressively with EVs paying the full amount of MRB from 2030.

Italy has reduced the taxable base for EV company cars from 25% to 10% to incentivise company car drivers to choose electric.

In Spain the Moves III initiative was ended last year, but income tax breaks for EV purchase worth up to €20,000 a vehicle remain in place.

Infrastructure

According to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory there were 934k public charging points available in the 27 countries of the EU at the end of the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 35% over one year ago. 16% of these were DC fast chargers.

Between 2023 and 2024 the fleet of fully electric cars and vans this infrastructure is required to service grew from 4.3 to 6.3 million vehicles, a nearly identical increase of 34%. This suggests that network expansion is at present keeping pace with the number of EVs taking to the roads of Europe.

However, two challenges lie ahead. Firstly, if the measures to encourage EV adoption play out as intended, then the growth of the electric fleet will accelerate rapidly over the next few years. Expansion of infrastructure will therefore need to ramp up at a similar pace. Secondly, it is also clear that the distribution of public charging infrastructure is uneven, both between EU member states and within their individual regions. An often cited comparison to illustrate this unevenness is between The Netherlands and Romania. The latter has a land area six times greater than the Netherlands but a public charger infrastructure that is barely a fortieth in size.

A key piece of EU legislation that came into effect from January 2025 requires all non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces to have at least one EV charging point installed. This will further expand the availability of charge points to EV users.

At the end of the quarter, four of Europe’s major charging companies — Atlante, Electra, Fastned, and IONITY — announced the formation of the Spark Alliance. The aim of the collaboration is to create a seamless, pan-European charging network, giving EV drivers simplified access to over 11,000 high speed charge points across 25 countries.

Future EV models

The choice of EVs available to European motorists will grow significantly during the remainder of the year.

In the ‘affordable’ category a number of models — many of them from European manufacturers — are set to arrive although availability and release timelines will vary across markets. Amongst these are the BYD ATTO 2, BYD Dolphin Surf, Citroën e-C3, Citroën e-C3 Aircross, Cupra Raval, Fiat Grande Panda, Nio Firefly, Ford Puma Gen-E, Kia EV4, Opel/Vauxhall Frontera, Renault 4 E-Tech, Renault Twingo E-Tech, Tesla Model Q, Volkswagen ID.2, and Volvo EX30.

The new Opel/Vauxhall Frontera.

In addition there are a large number of releases across a broad range of segments, with some brands launching their first EV offerings, including Alfa Romeo, Caterham, Maserati, and Range Rover.

The current list of new EV model launches includes the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Alpine A290, Alpine A390, Audi A6 e-tron, BMW iX3, BYD Sealion 7, Caterham Project V, Citroën C5 Aircross, DS No8, Ford Explorer EV, Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, Hyundai Ioniq 9, IM Motors L6, Jaguar GT, Jeep Wagoneer S, Kia EV5, Kia EV9 GT, Leapmotor C10, Maserati MC20 Folgore, Mazda 6e, Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Mercedes-Benz G 580, Nissan Leaf, Polestar 3, Polestar 5, Porsche Macan EV, Range Rover Electric, Škoda Elroq, Smart #1, Suzuki e Vitara, Tesla Model 3 (facelift ‘Highland’), Tesla Model Y (facelift ‘Juniper’), Toyota Urban SUV, Volkswagen ID.7, Volvo ES90, and Xpeng G6.

In addition there will be some significant launches of electric Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs). Kia is introducing its first van model, the PV5. Farizon — a brand owned by Geely — is bringing innovative, drive-by-wire technology to the commercial vehicle sector. Volkswagen has recently launched the seventh generation of its popular Transporter with full-electric variants available.

Country Profile: Denmark

Key statistics

Population: 5,961,249

Land area: 42,926 km² (population density: 139 people per km²)

GDP per capita 2024: €60,510 (#4 in EU ranking over time.)

Danish Car Market

The Danish car market is relatively small compared to the major European markets. In 2024, total new car registrations were 173,114 units; it therefore ranks only 14th amongst European car markets in terms of overall volume.

However, the share of electric cars within this total has grown with BEVs achieving a 51.5% share of the new passenger car market in 2024. This share increased to 65.5% during the first quarter of 2025. Mobility Denmark predicts that BEV cars will account for 70-75% of the new passenger car market in 2025. This level of demand — in the first quarter of 2025 more EVs were sold in Denmark than either Italy or Spain — therefore makes it a highly significant market for EV manufacturers.

Drivers of EV adoption

• High public awareness and support for green initiatives contribute to the strengthening consumer preference for EVs.
• With household income higher relative to the rest of Europe, price differentials are less of a barrier to EV purchase.
• Government taxation policies provide the strongest incentive for EV purchase — no direct purchase subsidies are currently offered. From 2021 to 2025, BEVs are subject to only 40% of registration tax. (This will increase 8% a year to 80% by 2030, then at 4% a year to reach 100% in 2035.)
• Broader green policies have support across the coalition government led by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats. These include ambitious goals for climate neutrality by 2050. The ‘green conversion of road transport’ is a central pillar of this policy, with a targeted end to the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030 and hybrids by 2035.

Other central and municipal government policies

The current coalition government is considered relatively stable, providing a degree of consistency in policy direction which further helps shape consumers’ purchase decisions. Expectations of future tax increases and further regulation of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles encourages the switch to EVs.

Many Danish municipalities are promoting EV adoption through their policies and actions. These include acquiring EVs for their own vehicle fleets, investing in public charging infrastructure within their jurisdictions, as well as amending building and planning regulations to require the provision of charge points.

Infrastructure

As of the beginning of 2025 Denmark had 35,869 publicly accessible charge points of which 5,371 (15%) were of a DC/high speed type. This network supports a BEV fleet of, currently, 356,452 cars and vans: a ratio of 9.9 EVs per charge point. (This compares to an EU average of 8.1 EVs per charge point.)

Ultra-fast charging station in Knudshoved, Denmark, credit: cobe.com

Top selling car brands in Denmark 2024

Source: focus2move.com

Tesla Model Y was the top selling model during 2024 followed by Volkswagen ID.4. (Tesla’s sales have continued to fall in 2025 in line with many other European markets.)

The EV Index from Sophus3 provides an objective measure of the readiness of the vehicle market to enable and encourage the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

The index is formed from three pillars, each measuring distinct factors that help or hinder electric vehicle acquisition. First of these is the consumer appetite to buy electric, the second is the capability of the automotive companies to supply these cars, and the third is the availability of suitable charging infrastructure.

A score of 100 represents parity in the attractiveness, availability, pricing and usability of an electric car compared with a conventionally fuelled vehicle.

We publish the EV Index for the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway.

A fuller explanation of the EV Index from Sophus3 can be found here.