<span>STORY: Fully electric car sales in December overtook petrol for the first time in the European Union.</span><span>That was despite policymakers proposing to loosen emissions regulations.</span><span>Tesla continued to lose market share though, particularly to competitors including China’s BYD and Europe’s best-selling group Volkswagen.</span><span>That was according to data from the European auto lobby ACEA.</span><span>Car sales throughout Europe sustained a sixth straight month of year-on-year growth.</span><span>Overall registrations, a proxy for sales, hit their highest volumes in five years in 2025.</span><span>Europe’s car industry faces challenges including competition from China, U.S. import tariffs and difficulties in meeting domestic regulations for EV adoption.</span><span>The EU unveiled in December a plan to abandon an effective 2035 ban on combustion engine cars, bowing to calls from struggling carmakers.</span><span>But analysts expect EVs to gain in popularity despite the policy relaxation.</span><span>Sales in the EU, Britain and the European Free Trade Association rose by 7.6% to 1.2 million cars in December.</span><span>They were up over 10% at VW and 4.5% at Stelantis.</span><span>They fell 2.2% at Renault though. </span><span>And registrations at Tesla were down over a fifth.</span><span>Competitor BYD saw a 229% rise. </span>
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