Strategy & innovation newsletter | Edition 5 | 2025
For April 2025 year-to-date (YTD), new EU car registrations fell by 1.2% compared to the same period last year. Nonetheless, registrations in April rebounded with a 1.3% year-on-year (YOY) increase, showing signs of recovery despite the ongoing unpredictable global economic environment.
The battery-electric car market share for April 2025 YTD stood at 15.3% and Hybrid-electric models continued to grow in popularity, retaining their place as the most popular power type amongst buyers.
Up until April 2025, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 15.3% of the total EU market share, signifying an increase from the low baseline of 12% in April 2024 YTD. Hybrid-electric vehicles surged, capturing 35.3% of the market and remaining the preferred choice among EU consumers. Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell again to 38.2%, down from 48.4% over the same period in 2024.
In the first four months of 2025, new battery-electric car sales grew by 26.4%, to 558,262 units, capturing 15.3% of the total EU market share. Three of the four largest markets in the EU, accounting for 63% of all battery-electric car registrations, recorded robust gains: Germany (+42.8%), Belgium (+31.3%), and the Netherlands (+6.4%). This contrasted with France, which saw a decline of 4.4%, despite the recovery seen in April 2025.
Tesla reported another monthly drop in April, with total volumes down 49% year-on-year. In contrast, BYD saw an increase of 359% over the same period thanks to its broad and competitive line up of fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. BYD’s rapid expansion has already pushed it ahead of established European car brands – outselling Fiat, Dacia, and Seat in the UK; Fiat and Seat in France; Seat in Italy; and Fiat in Spain. This growth comes even before production begins at its new plant in Hungary.
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest industrial group, has said it will make a “massive” investment in the US. The group, which includes Porsche, revealed it has been in direct talks with Donald Trump’s administration as it faces damaging tariffs.
Oliver Blume, who heads the group, said the talks were “constructive” and “fair”, in an interview that suggests the company, whose market capital is £44bn, is not willing to leave tariff negotiations to Brussels alone.
He hoped that plans for substantial investment would help shape Trump’s ultimate decision on the 25% tariffs the US imposed on auto imports in April.
Asia Pacific
BYD recently unveiled 10C megawatt charging stations suitable for passenger electric cars with a 1000V high-voltage system. These systems can charge to 400 km of range in around five minutes. The company’s chairman, Wang Chuanfu, went on to announce that BYD will eventually establish over 4,000 thousand megawatt charging stations across China.
Following criticism of its slow DC charging set-up, the world’s biggest NEV maker decided to make a change resulting in the company preparing to launch its first vehicles based on the ‘Super e-Platform’ with a 1000V high-voltage system. To match these BEVs, BYD officially released the 1000 kW charger, which is also a part of the Super e-Platform, called the “Megawatt Flash Charger.” Further details to be released in due course.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has announced new mandatory national safety standards for electric vehicle batteries that will take effect on July 1, 2026. The updated regulation represents the world’s first standard requiring batteries to prevent fire and explosion even after internal thermal runaway occurs.
The most significant change in the new standard is the thermal diffusion test requirement. While the previous standard only required a warning signal five minutes before fire or explosion, the updated regulation mandates that batteries must not catch fire or explode, even during thermal runaway events. Industry experts believe these stringent requirements will significantly enhance consumer safety while accelerating industry consolidation.
Japanese carmaker Honda has announced a shift in its development strategy, leveraging Chinese technology to meet the rapidly evolving expectations of local car buyers in China. Honda recently unveiled the plan at Auto Shanghai, where it showcased the GT model of its electric Ye Series. As part of this push, Honda said it will co-develop next-generation advanced driver assistance systems with Momenta, a Chinese company known for its expertise in map-free smart driving technologies.
Honda is also adopting AI technologies developed by DeepSeek. These AI solutions are designed to improve in-cabin interactions, offering a more comfortable and personalized driving experience.
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co., Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to supply Mitsubishi Motors with an electric vehicle (EV) model developed by Foxtron and have decided to proceed with further discussions.
The EV model to be supplied to Mitsubishi Motors as an OEM model will be developed by Foxtron, manufactured in Taiwan by Yulon Motor Co., Ltd. (Yulon Motor), and introduced in the Oceania region (Australia and New Zealand) in the second half of 2026. The model is part of the product plan announced last year for Australia, extending through 2030.
Mitsubishi Motors is advancing its environmental initiatives through the electrification of new models. This effort includes upgrades to the Outlander PHEV, a plug-in hybrid EV, and the addition of hybrid EV models to the Xpander and Xforce, which are popular in the ASEAN region. In addition to exploring collaboration with Foxconn, Mitsubishi Motors plans to enhance its electrified vehicle lineup by leveraging the strengths of the Alliance, such as receiving OEM models from Renault Group in Europe and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in North America.
The Americas
In the past week, the U.S. Court of International Trade blocked steep reciprocal tariffs unilaterally imposed by President Trump on scores of countries in April to correct what he said were persistent trade imbalances. The ruling will be a blow to the President’s economic agenda and ongoing efforts to negotiate trade deals with various nations.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel on the Court of International Trade said that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump invoked to impose the tariffs, does not authorize a president to levy universal duties on imports.
Several existing tariffs on specific products like aluminum and steel are not impacted by the ruling, because the President did not invoke IEEPA powers to justify their necessity.
Volvo Cars will cut 3,000 mostly white-collar jobs as part of a restructuring announced last month as it grapples with high costs, a slowdown in electric vehicle demand and trade uncertainty, it said recently.
The layoffs come as the Swedish automaker tries to resurrect its share price and create greater demand for its cars by restructuring part of its business and cutting costs.
Toyota is moving some production of its GR Corolla sports car to Britain and will spend around USD 56 million on a dedicated line there to build exports for North America, according to regional sources.
By shifting some production from Japan, Toyota aims to use excess capacity in Britain to help it cut delivery wait times for the car. The move was not in reaction to U.S. President Trump's tariffs on automobile imports, they said.
The Trump administration agreed this month to reduce tariffs on auto imports from Britain to 10% on up to 100,000 vehicles a year. Japan is seeking to repeal the 25% tariffs that the U.S. has imposed on all auto imports.
For global automakers, the tariffs mean an additional challenge on top of differing emissions standards, and customer demands, across major markets.