2023-07-19 10:10:39
More electric cars than diesel were sold in June in the European Union, according to figures from the Association of European Manufacturers (ACEA), a first carried by Tesla and Volkswagen as the continent wants to ban thermal cars new in 12 years. Gasoline and hybrid cars remain at the top of sales, but with 158,000 vehicles sold, electric cars have increased from 10.7 to 15.1% market share in one year. They notably exploded in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium.
This increase is driven in particular by Tesla, which has cut its prices: one in five electric cars sold in Europe in the first half of the year bears the capital T badge, or 137,000 cars. The European leader Volkswagen also saw its sales of electric vehicles explode (217,000 unit sales, +68%), driven in particular by its ID.4, ID.5 or Audi Q4 SUVs. Diesel continues to decline, sunk by purchase penalties and rising fuel costs, which followed the rigged emissions (“Dieselgate”) scandal. Despite bursts in Germany and Central Europe, this adored engine of large rollers now represents 13.4% of sales.
In the spring, the European Union ratified its transition to a 100% greenhouse gas emission-free market in 2035 to achieve its climate objectives. Hybrid cars, which pollute a little less and allow you to benefit from purchase bonuses, have also made strong progress and represent 24.3% of the market, driven by Germany, France and Italy. Separately, sales of rechargeable hybrids (which can be plugged into a socket or a terminal) are down over one year with the cancellation of purchase subsidies in certain countries, and represent 7.9% of the market.
Gasoline, however, remains the main energy in the EU with 36.3% of sales in June, up 11%, with the overall growth of the market. More broadly, sales of new cars rebounded in Europe in the first half, with an increase of 17.9% over one year. With 5.4 million cars sold, however, the market remains 21% lower than in the first half of 2019, the last year of all records before the Covid.
Volkswagen en shape
Among the main markets, Spain (+24%) and Italy (+22.8%) saw strong increases in early 2023. France rebounded by 15.3% and Germany by 12.8% . “The progress of the last few months shows that the European automotive industry is recovering from the logistical problems caused by the pandemic”, underlines the ACEA in a press release. The European automotive market has started to grow sustainably again since August 2022, when the Covid-19 crisis, combined with a shortage of parts including crucial electronic components, had dealt it a severe blow.
Since the beginning of the year, Volkswagen has largely consolidated its position as Europe’s biggest car seller, ruling over 26.1% of the market (+1.3 points in one year) with more than 1.4 million cars sold, helped by the dynamism of its main brand, Audi, the Czech Skoda or the Spanish sports Cupra. The German giant is followed by the Franco-Italian-American Stellantis (18.8% of the market, down 1 point over one year), with falling market shares for Peugeot, Opel, Fiat and Citroën. Small brands Alfa Romeo and Jeep are bouncing back, however, with their new models.
The French Renault reached 11.1% of the European market (+0.5 points in one year), helped by the dynamism of Dacia low-cost cars whose volumes grew by 30.1% over the first six months of the year. Hyundai-Kia and Toyota saw their progress slowed down to 8.4% and 6.8% market share.
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