With 909,000 vehicles, sales of gasoline cars fell by 22.2% over one year. They represented 38.5% of the new market in the second quarter in the European Union, according to figures published by the association of manufacturers, at THAT one. The models Diesel fell on all markets, with 409,000 vehicles sold in the EU (-27.7%), they only represented 17.3% of sales, compared to still 20.2% over the same period in 2021 It would seem that internal combustion engines particularly suffer from the shortage of electronic components. More in any case than hybrid cars, which also saw their sales decline slightly in the EU (-2.2%).
That said, at Union level, the market share of hybrids continues to increase: these engines now represent 22.6% of sales. In detail, however, we see that sales of plug-in hybrids are following the downward trend that began at the end of 2021 (-12.5%), with a very marked decline in France and Germany, while the actual level of their emissions of CO2 is criticized because close to that of thermal cars, for lack of correct use (their users would be too few to recharge the battery as often as possible). They now represent 8.7% of sales, with 206,000 cars sold.
The category of 100% electric cars is the only one to progress (+11%), with 243,000 cars sold, although the conquest of the market is also slowed down by supply problems. The electric car currently represents 9.9% of sales in Europe.
However, the electric market is still far from European objectives. EU member states approved the Commission’s plan at the end of June to ban de facto sales of combustion engine cars from 2035in order to contribute to achieving the continent’s climate objectives, in particular carbon neutrality by 2050. However, when we know that the automobile accounts for just under 15% of CO2 total in Europe, one cannot help wondering what all this ramdam will really serve, if not to create more economic and social inequalities.