Robust demand for battery electric vehicles so far in 2025 has eroded ICE volume and helped push diesel share to the lowest level seen so far at just over 10% of the region’s car market (with just Greece data outstanding at the time of writing).
Volume-wise, March diesel sales, at 140k, were also the lowest seen in that month since the diesel car market first became significant. Germany, while still the engine room of diesel car demand in the region, saw diesel sales contract by more than 30k units versus March 2024. No doubt, the re-igniting of the BEV market there is at least partly responsible. Elsewhere, Italy and France also suffered significant falls in diesel demand while Spain and the UK were more stable, the latter having seen its diesel car market already collapse to a low level.
In Germany, the share of diesels that are hybridised – mostly 48V mild hybrids – remains constant at about 30%. With little development now taking place in the diesel segment, we wouldn’t expect this figure to alter much between now and when diesel is fully phased out. That is likely to take place by early next decade.
This article was first published on GlobalData’s dedicated research platform, the Automotive Intelligence Center.
