BYD Seal U Immensely Popular
Plug-in hybrids, also known as PHEVs, increased even more in popularity in Europe in April than fully electric cars.
While EVs in Europe became 28 percent more popular in a more or less stable car market, the sales figures for plug-in hybrids rose even more. Hybrids without a plug are also increasing in popularity.
Car manufacturers want and need to keep their average CO2 emissions per car sold in Europe low, and you naturally do that by heavily electrifying. If EVs do not sell naturally, you just sprinkle with discount and that does not hurt Volkswagen (at least in terms of sales figures) so far. PHEVs can also significantly reduce the CO2 average. Dataforce concludes that the sales of cars with that drive form rose even faster than those of fully electric cars. In April 2025, no less than 32 percent more plug-in hybrids went over the proverbial European counter in Europe than in the same month last year, Automotive News notes.
BYD and Volvo
The most popular PHEV in Europe turned out to be the BYD Seal U DM-i (photo), the only non-EV from BYD in the Netherlands and a model that, as a plug-in hybrid, escapes the high import duties for electric cars from China. The BYD found 5,300 customers, just slightly more than the 5,195 buyers that Volkswagen managed to attract for a Tiguan eHybrid. The Volvo XC60 is and remains remarkably popular for such a pricey model. In April, the Volvo finishes in 3rd place, but in the whole year so far, the Volvo is even in first place.
The Volvo XC60 remains remarkably popular in the ‘PHEVs’ category