April 2025 reshapes the European electric car market: Skoda Elroq leads, Tesla Model Y slips

April delivered a modest twist in the European electric car market. The Volkswagen Group held on to its position as the sales leader, but the spotlight did not fall on the Volkswagen brand itself.

Skoda Elroq takes the lead in April 2025

This time, Skoda came out on top. The new Elroq was Europe’s best-selling fully electric model in the year’s fourth month, with 7998 deliveries, according to JATO data. Unveiled towards the end of 2024, the Czech SUV reached European markets early this year, including Portugal.

Close behind was a strong showing from Volkswagen: the ID.3, ID.7 and ID.4 filled the next places with 6932 units (+34% versus the same month in 2024), 6776 units (+640%, the biggest rise in the Top 10) and 6297 units (+3%), respectively.

Market context: EV growth outpaces the wider market

For context, electric car sales in Europe rose by 28% in April, with 184 312 vehicles registered. That stands in clear contrast to the overall market, which is flat - up just 0.1% to 1 078 521 units (data covering 28 countries).

Tesla, meanwhile, is still going through a difficult period. The Model Y - the brand’s best-seller and also the world’s best-selling car (in 2023 and 2024) - ranked only ninth among Europe’s best-selling electric cars, with 6066 units, representing a 53% drop compared with April 2024.

See the TOP 10 best-selling electric cars in Europe in April 2025:

Outside the Top 10, two sharp declines stand out: the Volvo EX30, down 57% to 3712 units, and the Tesla Model 3, which fell 41% to 2604 units. In contrast, the new Renault Scenic posted a notable result, rising 413% with 3034 vehicles sold.

And year-to-date?

Looking at the cumulative figures, the leading names change. Data from DataForce, shared by Automotive News Europe, indicates that between January and April this year the Tesla Model Y remains Europe’s best-selling electric model, with 35 219 units. However, it is far from a victory lap: compared with 2024, sales have nearly halved, down 48.4%.

If the trend does not shift, its lead among electric cars is under threat from the Volkswagen ID.4, which is seeing substantial growth: by April it had reached 27 290 units, up 71.2% on 2024. In third place sits the Tesla Model 3 on 26 483 units - also down, though less dramatically, by 16.9%.

The biggest year-to-date surges belong to the Audi Q6 e-tron (+5392.9%) and the Volkswagen ID.7 (+797%).

Another year-to-date highlight is that the Top 10 includes two models that only began being sold recently: the Kia EV3 with 24 154 units, and the Renault 5 E-tech with 22 479 units.

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