In March, the PV (passenger vehicle – car) selling rate for Western Europe fell to 11 million units/year, from 12.6 million units/year in February. Sales volumes were up 2% year-on-year (YoY) overall; however, national market sales were mixed across the region. Sales in Spain, the UK, and Italy experienced significant YoY growth, while France and Germany faced a decline in sales once more. YTD sales now stand at slightly above 3 million units, though this represents a slight decline on the same period in 2024.
The Western European PV market continues to struggle amidst increasing economic headwinds. US President Donald Trump’s implementation of tariffs on automotive imports, along with broad tariffs affecting all US trade partners, has heightened global trade war concerns. This situation presents substantial challenges and potentially harmful consequences for various Western European economies, many of which depend heavily on the US for a significant portion of their exports. Added to which, the recent the stock market sell off will have negative wealth effects.
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GlobalData has lowered the outlook for 2025, projecting car sales to fall short of 2024’s total market, though the economic situation is currently very fluid, and an even weaker market result cannot be ruled out.
The PV selling rate for Western Europe stood at 11 million units/year, down from February 2025 and March 2024. Sales volumes were up 2% YoY; however, this improvement does not fully capture the complexities of the current market environment. The imposition of sweeping tariffs by US President Trump presents significant challenges, compounding the existing economic headwinds of stagnant growth and persistent inflation in the region. Potential retaliatory measures could escalate tensions into a full global trade war, which would undoubtedly impact growth and wealth across Western Europe. As a result, we approach our forecast for 2025 with caution, and now do not anticipate any improvement in market volumes compared to those observed in 2024.
In March 2025, sales performance varied across the five major markets in Western Europe. Italy, Spain, and the UK experienced positive growth, while France and Germany faced downturns. The Spanish PV market experienced a remarkable surge in March 2025, with 117k units registered, reflecting a robust 23% YoY increase. This growth can be largely attributed to a calendar effect, as March 2025 benefited from two additional working days due to the timing of Easter. The UK PV market saw solid growth in March 2025 — PV sales rose 12.4% YoY to 357k units, this is the best monthly result since March 2019. Italy’s PV market improved its performance in March to 172k units, up 6% YoY. Furthermore, the monthly selling rate improved to 1.6 million units/year.
The German PV market fell for a fourth consecutive month in March 2025. PV sales fell nearly 4% YoY to 254k units. The monthly selling rate also dropped 13% to 2.52 million units. The French PV market fell nearly 15% YoY in March 2025, as 154k units were sold — sales have fallen in every month in Q1 2025 and overall, the PV market has seen a loss in ten of the previous eleven months.
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By GlobalData
This article was first published on GlobalData’s dedicated research platform, the Automotive Intelligence Center.
