The European car market suffered a sharp decline in August (-18.3% year-on-year), driven in particular by the weakness of the German, French and Italian markets, according to figures published on Thursday by the Association of Manufacturers (ACEA).
However, since the beginning of 2024, sales have seen slight growth (+1.4%), particularly thanks to the Italian and Spanish markets, with a total of almost 7.2 million registrations.
Sales of electric cars registered their fourth month of decline in August (-43.9%), falling below 100,000 vehicles, representing 14.4% of the market.
Electric car sales at half-mast
After several years of strong growth, sales of electric cars have declined, notably with the reduction of purchase premiums in some countries, but also in anticipation of stricter rules on CO2 emissions, which should bring more affordable models to dealerships.
Registrations fell particularly in August in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Sweden, but continued to grow in Belgium and Denmark. Industry leader Tesla saw its sales fall by 43.2% year-on-year and 14.9% since the beginning of the year.
Closer to the EU, electric car registrations have also increased in the UK.
Hybrid cars are the only ones that move forward
In this declining market, hybrid cars (with electric motors but which do not need to be plugged in to recharge) are the only ones to make progress in August (+6.6%), with more than 200,000 units. They now represent almost a third of the market (31.3%), compared to 24% in August 2023.
Petrol cars have fallen by 17.1% in a year, but they still dominate the market for some models, with 33.1% of registrations. Sales of diesel models are in free fall in most European markets (-26.4%) and represent 11.2% of the market.
Plug-in hybrid models (with an electric battery that must be plugged in) are also down (-22.3%) in most of their markets and represent 7.1% of registrations.
Among manufacturers, leader Volkswagen fell less in August than the market (-14.8%), while second-placed Stellantis plummeted (-29.5%) with its Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat and Opel brands. Renault (-13.9%) and Hyundai-Kia (14.5%) are also holding up a little better, while Toyota-Lexus, the pioneer of hybrids, is doing well (-4.3%), while, like Volvo, it is the only manufacturer on the rise (+28.6%), in particular thanks to its compact electric EX30. Some manufacturers, including Renault and Volkswagen, are calling for the tightening of CO2 emissions standards planned for 2025 to be postponed, while Stellantis is opposed.
Source: BFM TV
