New car sales in the EU rebounded at the end of the year, largely driven by strong growth in the Spanish car market, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed Tuesday.

New car registrations rose 5.1 percent year-over-year in December to 910,505 units, reversing a 1.9 percent fall in November.

Among the four major markets, the Spanish car market showed a double-digit growth of 28.8 percent, followed by France with a modest 1.5 percent increase. Meanwhile, sales were down 7.1 percent in Germany and a 4.9 percent fall was seen in Italy.

In November, the market share of battery-electric car sales stood at 15.9 percent. Petrol cars retained their lead at 33.3 percent, while hybrid-electric cars strengthened their second position, commanding a 30.9 percent market share.

Registrations of battery-electric cars dropped 10.2 percent, primarily driven by a significant decrease in registrations in Germany and France. Plug-in hybrid car registrations rose by 4.9 percent last month.

Petrol car sales declined 1.8 percent, with all major markets showing declines except Spain. Data showed that the diesel car market contracted sharply by 15.0 percent as double-digit declines were observed in most EU markets.

During the year 2024, new car registration rose slightly by 0.8 percent to around 10.6 million units. The Spanish car market continued to show resilience with a solid 7.1 percent growth, the ACEA said. On the other hand, declines in sales were seen in all three other major markets.

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