Europe's car market remains strong, with new car sales up 10.1% in February 2024 compared to the same month last year. The highest growth was recorded in France (13%) and Italy (12.8%).
Hybrid car sales grew particularly strongly. This segment grew by an impressive 24.2 per cent in the European Union, the UK and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries. The number of plug-in hybrids, which can be charged from a plug socket, also rose by 12 per cent.
The number of new petrol cars grew by 5.9%, with this category still taking the largest share, over a third of the total market.
Petrol cars, being the most popular category, have been reluctant to cede their share to electric and hybrid cars. The market share of petrol cars has fallen marginally since February 2023, from 36.9% to 35.5% this year.
New diesel car registrations in Europe fell by 5.1 per cent, although the category still has a 12 per cent share. New car sales fell in several markets in February, including the three largest, France (-30.5%), Spain (-17.4%) and Italy (-11.8%). In Germany, on the other hand, diesel new car sales were up 9.7%.
Electric cars
Sales of electric vehicles showed a moderate increase of 10.3%. Fully battery-dependent models retain a market share of 13.2%, but their distribution pattern looks uneven. For example, Belgium saw a 66.9 per cent increase in sales and France saw a 31.8 per cent increase in sales. However, Germany recorded a 15.4% drop in sales. A similar situation is observed in other Nordic countries.
This difference can be attributed to the end of government incentives and the still weak charging infrastructure in some countries.
Hybrids on the rise
With this development, hybrid cars seem to be establishing themselves as an intermediate option, on the road to electrification of Europe's transport sector. Hybrid sales were particularly strong in the four largest car markets: in France (+41.5%), Spain (+26.5%), Germany (+16.4%) and Italy (+16.1%).
Source: Euronews
