BYD is gaining ground fast, Volkswagen is the plug-in king
Last year, the Ford Kuga PHEV was the most popular new plug-in hybrid in the Netherlands. At the European level, another SUV was the absolute number one.
In 2025, Ford delivered 4,123 units of the Kuga PHEV in the Netherlands. This made the plug-in hybrid Ford Kuga the most popular plug-in in the Netherlands. The Kuga PHEV also performs well at the European level. With 41,983 registrations, the SUV is in fourth place in the Top 10 of the most registered new plug-in hybrids in Europe. This is according to figures from Dataforce published by Automotive News. What then is the most popular plug-in hybrid in Europe? The BYD Seal U.
Last year, 72,667 units of the BYD Seal U, known as Song Plus in China, were registered in Europe. That was more than ten times as many as in 2024. In the Netherlands, 2,421 BYD Seal Us were registered in 2025.
In the European Top 10, we find the Volkswagen Tiguan in second place, followed by the old but still popular Volvo XC60, of which over 60,000 units were registered. For a newcomer, the Jaecoo 7 is doing exceptionally well. Particularly in Southern European countries, the plug-in SUV is selling like hotcakes.
Volkswagen can not only call itself the brand that registered the most EVs in Europe, but it is also the brand that sold the most PHEVs. With almost 160,000 registered plug-ins, Volkswagen is in first place. BMW and Mercedes-Benz follow in second and third place respectively. Volvo is in fourth place, BYD in fifth.