Car sales in the EU: e-cars up slightly in the first half of the year
More cars were sold in the EU in June than in the previous month and in June 2023. The share of electric cars increased in the first half of the year
Fewer new electric cars were registered in the EU in June 2024 than a year ago. However, the sales figures for electric cars increased overall in the first half of the year. In the picture: VW ID.4 (test)
(Image: Christoph M. Schwarzer)
Following a dip in the previous month, car manufacturers in the European Union sold more cars again in June. The number of newly registered cars in the EU rose by 4.3 percent compared to the same month last year to around 1.1 million vehicles, according to the industry association Acea. Of the major manufacturing nations Germany, France, Italy and Spain, only France suffered a decline. In the first half of the year, new registrations in the EU rose by a total of 4.5 percent to 5,683,843, compared to 5,438,888 in the first six months of the previous year.
E-cars: decline in June
The share of cars with battery-electric drive systems fell by one percent year-on-year to 156,408 units in June, with their overall market share falling from 15.1 to 14.4 percent. Despite significant growth in Belgium (+50.4 percent) and Italy (+117.4), these increases could not compensate for double-digit declines in the other major markets in June: Germany (-18.1), the Netherlands (-15), France (-10.3). However, a total of 712,623 new battery-electric cars were registered in the EU in the first half of the year. This is a slight increase of 1.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Electric cars now account for 12.5 percent of new registrations in the EU.
Plug-in hybrids recorded a sharp decline of 19.9 percent last month, with three markets experiencing particularly significant falls: Belgium (-49.2 percent), France (-21.7) and Germany (-3.4). In June, plug-in hybrids accounted for 6.1 percent of the total car market, compared to 7.9 percent last year with 66,482 units sold. In the first six months of this year, a total of 392,284 plug-in hybrids were registered for the first time in the EU. In the first two quarters of 2023, the figure was 402,319.
Hybrids are the winners so far
Hybrids that cannot be charged externally are among the winners on the car market. Their number rose from 1,358,058 in the first half of 2023 to 1,661,081 in the first six months of 2024 - an increase of 22.3 percent. The number of petrol cars registered for the first time remained almost identical this year at 2,007,942. In the first six months of 2023, the figure was 2,018,060. New registrations of cars with diesel engines continued to decline. Their number fell from 789,429 to 730,642 - a drop of 7.4 percent.
Overall, car sales continue to develop very differently in the EU. Growth was strongest in Bulgaria, with an increase of 30.8 percent, followed by Poland (+16 percent) and Cyprus (+15). The sharpest declines in percentage terms were recorded in Finland (-16.5), Estonia (-16.2) and Latvia (-12.7). In Germany, 1,471,641 new cars were registered in the first six months of this year instead of 1,396,870 (2023), which corresponds to an increase of 5.4 percent. This is slightly above the EU average of 4.5 percent.
(mfz)