Electric cars in the EU continue to go backwards

According to an analysis by the EY consulting firm, the EU new car market grew slightly by four percent in June. However, fewer new cars were registered in eleven of the 27 EU countries than in the same month last year, including in large markets such as France, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Austria, an increase of 25 percent was registered. One problem for the B sector: there is hardly any demand for electric cars.

E-market share is declining

Although EU car sales rose by three percent in the first half of the year, there is still a gap of around 1.2 million new cars compared to 2019 – in the first half of 2019, 18 percent more cars were newly registered than in the previous six months. In Austria, sales rose by seven percent, but new registrations were still 23 percent below the figure achieved in the first half of 2019.
In June, the number of newly registered electric cars fell by one percent compared to the same month last year, and declining sales figures were recorded in 13 countries. In Austria, a slight increase of two percent was achieved. The market share of electric cars fell across the EU from 15.1 to 14.4 percent compared to the same month last year, and in Austria from 18.8 to 15.3 percent. 16 of the 27 EU countries reported a declining market share of electric cars.

Subsidies, uncertainties

“Progress in electromobility is stalling. This is partly due to expiring or reduced subsidies, as is the case in Germany, for example. It is also a fact that consumer interest in this technology remains limited. The renewed debate in Europe about a possible revision of the planned ban on combustion engines from 2035 onwards is contributing to uncertainty and reluctance,” says EY analyst Axel Preiss.

E-cars remain a niche product in most EU countries: in 15 EU countries, the electric market share was less than ten percent in June. In Belgium alone, almost twice as many new electric cars were registered in June as in Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus combined. Overall, the market share of electric cars in the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe was 4.8 percent in June.