In August, Europeans bought 92,627 BEVs. That's a lot less than the 165,204 sold in August 2023. The market share for electric cars also went down from 21% to 14.4%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
This drop in electric car sales brought down the whole car market. Only 643,637 new cars were sold in total, which is 18.3% less than last year. It's the lowest number of cars sold since 2021.
Other types of cars didn't do well either. People bought fewer gasoline cars (213,057, down 17.1%) and diesel cars (72,177, down 26.4%). Plug-in hybrids also saw a drop with 45,590 sold, which is 22.3% less than last year. Regular hybrids were the only type that saw more sales, with 201,552 sold, up by 6.6%.
This isn't just a one-month problem. Electric car sales have been going down for four months in a row. So far this year, 902,011 electric cars have been registered, making up 12.6% of all car sales.
Car makers are worried about a few things. There aren't enough charging stations. There's a lot of competition in making electric cars. Governments aren't giving as many incentives to buy electric cars. It's hard to get the materials needed to make batteries. The economy isn't growing much. And some people still aren't sure about buying electric cars.
This slow-down in electric car sales could cause problems. Car makers might struggle to meet rules about emissions. They're trying to get ready for when Europe bans gas and diesel cars. But now they're not sure how quickly people will switch to electric cars.
In light of this situation, the ACEA board is advocating for “short-term relief” from the tougher 2025 CO2 targets for cars and vans. They believe that such measures would facilitate a smoother transition to zero-emission mobility while safeguarding the industrial future of Europe.
Source: ACEA