Western Europe’s car market down 1% in first half of year

According to GlobalData, the latest data on Western Europe’s PV (passenger vehicles – cars) market showed that sales in the month of June had fallen 6% YoY to 1.1 million vehicles. The selling rate improved though, standing at 11.6 million units/year, from the 10.9 million units/year recorded the previous month. Overall, though, it has been a tough first half to 2025, with YTD sales down over 1%, on what is a weak base.

Across the major five markets in the region, June was a mixed picture. Sales in both Spain and the UK grew well, YoY, though France, Germany and Italy were all lower (the latter two by double-digit percentages). The latest result reaffirms our view that the regional market will contract for the 2025 full year, reflecting ongoing lacklustre consumer confidence and subdued broader macroeconomic activity.

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For June, the PV selling rate for Western Europe stood at 11.6 million units/year, an improvement over the previous month and one of the better results seen over the first six months of the year. However, in YoY terms, the market fell back 6%, with over a third of the markets assessed here being down by double-digit percentages, and notably two of the big five markets.

The results reflect a broader issue that the region is facing — anaemic economic growth. Some challenges are not restricted to the region, like increasing US trade protectionism, or heightened geopolitical concerns, but economically, Western Europe continues to struggle to find any real momentum, and that will be a key part of why we do not expect a major turn around in fortunes for the vehicle market this year.

Not all markets struggled last month though. Spain’s PV market continued its strong run of growth as the market improved for a tenth consecutive month. PV sales were up 15% YoY, totalling 119k units. YTD sales were 14% higher as the market continues to piggyback off a strongly performing economy while being supported by incentives. UK sales were also up well, climbing 7% and ensuring that market was in solid growth territory for the first six months of the year.

However, the German PV market fell in June as sales totalled 256k units, a 14% decline YoY. Consumers are feeling financially strained and pessimistic about the economy, leading to reduced willingness to make major purchases like cars. Meanwhile, in France, the PV market has fallen in every month so far in 2025 on a YoY basis. YTD French sales stood at 842k units, representing an 8% decline from the same period in 2024 — political instability and a weakening labour market are contributing to decreased business confidence and investment, further challenging the automotive sector. Finally, Italy sales were down 17%, partially due to a strong base comparison and partly due to an unsupportive economic backdrop.