The rebound in electric car sales in Europe

Agile electric car sales they rebounded in Europe in September after months of decline, but remain far from expected levels, according to data published Tuesday by producers gathered in Acea. After months with a negative sign, electric cars represented 17.3% of new car sales in Europe (+9.8% on an annual basis), compared to 14.8% in September 2023. They recorded notable progress in Germany where registrations had collapsed since the end of purchase bonuses at the end of 2023, but also in Belgium, Italy and Spain.Several weak months, howeveròhave hindered the long-awaited electricity transition from the sector: electricity sales since the beginning of the year are 5.8% lower than those of the first 9 months of 2023.

“Today’s data shows that we are still far from the thriving electricity market that Europe needs”, commented Sigrid de Vries, general director of Acea, in a statement. “We should see consistent and substantial monthly growth, especially at this crucial time in the development of this technology,” continued Sigrid de Vries. “Instead, year-to-date the market share of electric cars is almost 1% lower than last year, while volumes are still almost 6% lower.”

Mild-hybrid cars (with a petrol engine and a small electric battery that cannot be connected) have reached 32.8% of the market and have overtaken petrol cars for the first time (29.8% of the market, -17 .9 %). Sales (+12.5%) of these models, which pollute just under 100% of combustion engines but remain much cheaper than electric ones, have exploded in particular in France and Spain.

Diesel cars continue to collapse (-23.5%) and now represent only 10.4% of the market. Considering all supplies, the European market remained weak, losing 6.1% over a year, mainly due to the declines in the German, French and Italian markets. Since the beginning of the year, registrations have remained stable compared to 2023 (+0.6%), at a very low level compared to pre-Covid 19 years, equal to almost 8 million vehicles.