Car sales in the EU increased

In February, a total of 865,437 new passenger cars were registered in the EU, 1.4 percent more than in the same period last year. At the very beginning of the year, sales fell by 3.9 percent, so the data for the first two months of this year show 1.2 percent less new ‘registrations’. In the group of four market leaders, Italy overtook France in February and took second place in the ranking with a sales jump of 14.0 percent. In France, however, sales fell by 14.7 percent, ACEA data show.

More pronounced growth was also recorded in Spain, by 7.5 percent. The largest European market, that of Germany, grew by 3.8 percent.

The share of battery-powered electric cars in total sales was 18.8 percent in the first two months of this year, according to ACEA, with a sales growth of 22.3 percent.

The most popular powertrain was again hybrid electric cars with a market share of 38.7 percent and sales growth of 8.3 percent.

According to ACEA’s definition, the group includes “full and partial hybrids” which, depending on the power of the battery, can drive on average up to 62 percent of the time on electric power alone.

Sales of plug-in hybrids jumped by 30.6 percent, with a market share of approximately ten percent.

The market share of gasoline was 22.5 percent, with sales falling by 23.2 percent. Diesels made up about eight percent of the EU market, with a 17.7 percent drop in sales in January and February compared to the same period last year, according to ACEA data.

Sales of Chinese BYD almost tripled, signaling a low comparative base, with slightly more than 29 thousand electric and hybrid vehicles sold. The sale of Tesla’s battery-powered electric vehicles also increased strongly, by 16.7 percent, approaching the limit of 21,000 vehicles.

By Editor