Data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed that in August, the number of registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union fell by 18.3% per year, to 643,637 units, after an increase by 0.2% per year in July. Economists had expected a 20% decrease.
The data also showed that the number of registrations of new passenger cars fell in Germany (-27.8%), France (-24.3%), Italy (-13.4%) and Spain (-6.5%). These countries are the key markets of the region.
Meanwhile, from the beginning of the year (to August) new car registrations increased by 1.4%, almost reaching 7.2 million units. Growth was recorded in Spain (+4.5%) and Italy (+3.8%), while new car registrations were almost unchanged in France (-0.5%) and Germany (-0.3%).
ACEA said that in August, the battery-electric car market share fell to 14.4% from 21.0% in August 2023. Overall, new battery-electric car sales fell by 43.9% per annum, to 92,627 units. Hybrid-electric vehicles increased their market share from 24.0% to 31.3%. New registrations of hybrid-electric cars increased by 6.6% per annum, to 201,552 units. Plug-in hybrid car registrations fell by 22.3% to 45,590 units, while plug-in hybrids accounted for 7.1% of the total car market, down from 7.4% last year. The combined share of petrol and diesel cars dropped to 44.3% from 45.1%. Petrol car sales dropped by 17.1% per annum, to 213,057, while the diesel car market contracted by 26.4% per annum, to 72,177 units.