The car market of the European Union shows a really colorful picture. The electric car revolution is slowing down, but traditional hybrids are becoming more and more popular, but people have turned away from plug-in versions. And diesels are experiencing a bit of a renaissance, demand in Germany has really picked up, with a 12.4% increase.
New car registrations in the EU in June 2024 increased by 4.3% compared to the previous year, which was brought together by three of the four largest markets in the region: Italy (+15.1%), Germany (+6.1%) and Spain (+2.2%). In contrast, a 4.8% decrease was observed in France in the previous month.
In June 2024, pure electric cars accounted for 14.4% of the EU car market, down from 15.1% the previous year. At the same time, the market share of hybrid-electric vehicles increased from 24.4% to 29.5%. The combined share of only gasoline and diesel cars decreased from 49.6% to 47.1%.
Demand for electric cars is easing
Overall, it can be said that, looking at the annual data, more and more electric cars are being sold, but the rate of growth shows a slowing trend, and the statistics are currently showing a decrease in the short term.
In June 2024, pure electric car registrations fell by 1% to 156,408 cars sold, and their overall market share fell from 15.1% to 14.4%. Despite significant growth in Belgium (+50.4%) and Italy (+117.4%), this could not offset the double-digit declines in the top-grossing markets: Germany (-18.1%), the Netherlands (- 15%) and France (-10.3%).
As a result, a total of 712,637 new pure electric cars were registered in the first half of the year. This represents a modest increase of 1.3% year-on-year and accounts for 12.5% of the market.
Plug-in hybrids have become less attractive
Plug-in hybrid car registrations fell sharply by 19.9% last month, with significant declines in three countries: Belgium (-49.2%), France (-21.7%) and Germany (-3.4 %). In June, plug-in hybrids accounted for 6.1% of the total car market, up from 7.9% the previous year, with 66,482 units sold.
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Hybrid-electric vehicles were the only powertrain category to show growth, with car registrations up 26.4% in June to 321,959 units. This segment achieved double-digit growth in the four major European markets: France (+34.9%), Italy (+27.2%), Spain (+23%) and Germany (+16.5%). This increase raised the hybrid-electric market share to 29.5%, compared to 24.4% in June 2023.
It should be added that hybrid technology is now dominant in models based on an internal combustion engine, so anyone who just wants to buy an “average gasoline car” can easily take home a hybrid.
Customers turned away from plug-in hybrids
By a hair’s breadth, the proportion of exclusively petrol-diesel cars
In June 2024, sales of gasoline cars remained relatively stable, falling by only 0.7%. The decline in key markets such as France (-20.2%) and Spain (-7.5%) was offset by growth in Germany (+12.1%) and Italy (+6.9%). As a result, petrol cars now account for 34.4% of the market, up from 36.2% in June last year.
The diesel car market was in a similar position, with a slight decrease of 0.9%, resulting in a market share of 12.7% last June. While Germany saw a 12.4% increase, other major markets saw declines such as Italy (-18.3%), France (-8.3%) and Spain (-2.1%).
Source: www.vezess.hu
