EU New Car Registrations Dip 0.6% as Battery-Electric Share Reaches 15.4%

Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 15.4% of new car registrations in the EU by May 2025, showing growth but still trailing behind hybrid-electric models, which lead with 35.1% market share. The EU saw mixed regional trends, with Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands experiencing gains in battery-electric registrations, while France saw a decline. In Germany, electric car demand and the battery market shrank sharply after the expiration of the purchase bonus, with the market volume falling 16% in 2024 and concerns raised about dependency on Asian imports, especially from China. The German industry emphasizes the critical role of batteries for strategic infrastructure and military use and calls for policy measures to foster domestic battery production through cheaper energy, faster permits, and less bureaucracy. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the energy storage market faces a potential 29% contraction next year due to possible Republican-led cuts to tax credits, creating uncertainty for utility-scale battery projects despite some mitigation in President Donald Trump's current fiscal package. Additionally, grid bottlenecks have constrained the output and revenue potential of large battery projects in parts of New South Wales, Australia, highlighting infrastructure challenges that affect the effectiveness of big battery storage systems.