Alina Oprea • 20 September, 2023 at 6:10 PM
The share of electric cars in the European car market exceeded, for the first time, the 20% threshold in August, according to the figures published by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). In August 2023, the EU car market expanded by 21%, reaching 787,626 registered units, marking the thirteenth consecutive month of growth. Despite August typically being a slower month for car sales, double-digit gains indicate that the EU market is rebounding from last year's component shortages. There were double-digit percentage gains in most markets, including the three largest: Germany (+37.3%), France (+24.3%), and Italy (+11.9%).
From January to August 2023, new EU car registrations grew substantially (+17.9%), totaling 7.1 million units. Despite this year-to-date improvement, the market trails the pre-COVID-pandemic level of 9 million units sold in 2019. Notably, most markets experienced double-digit percentage gains in this eight-month period, including the four largest: Spain (+20.5%), Italy (+20.2%), France (+16.6%), and Germany (+16.5%).
In August, the market share of battery-electric cars exceeded 20% for the first time (up from 11.6% in August last year), overtaking diesel for the second time this year and becoming the third-most-popular choice for new car buyers. Hybrid-electric cars held their position as buyers' second choice, with a 24% market share. While petrol cars are still the most popular choice, market share decreased from 38.7% in August last year to 32.7%.
In August 2023, EU battery-electric car registrations surged by 118.1%, reaching 165,165 units, accounting for 21% of the market. Except for Malta (-22.6%), all EU markets saw double- and triple-digit percentage growth, with Germany, the largest market by volume, growing by a remarkable 170.7%. Belgium recorded the highest growth rate of 224.5%. Overall, battery-electric car sales increased by a significant 62.7%, with nearly 1 million units registered from January to August.
In August, new EU hybrid-electric car registrations expanded by 29%, primarily driven by robust growth in three of its four largest markets: Germany (+59%), France (+38.7%), and Spain (+21.5%), while Italy recorded a slight decline (-2.3%). This resulted in a cumulative 28.6% increase, with nearly 1.8 million units sold between January and August, equivalent to a quarter of the market.
Last month, new EU plug-in hybrid car registrations grew by 5.5%, totaling 58,557 units. Strong performance in major markets such as the Netherlands (+44.7%), France (+40.5%), and Sweden (+24.9%) helped offset the decline in Germany (-41.1%), the largest market for this power source. Despite this growth, the market share of plug-in hybrid cars decreased from 8.5% to 7.4% in August this year.
In August, the EU petrol car market slightly increased by 2.1%, although its market share decreased from 38.7% to 32.7% compared to August last year. A solid performance in Italy (+25.3%) and France (+21.5%) primarily drove this growth, while most of the bloc's markets declined.
Conversely, the EU's diesel car market continued its decline in August (-6%), despite growth in Germany (+9.2%) and Central and Eastern European markets, notably Slovakia (+22.6%) and Romania (+19.4%). Diesel cars now have a market share of 12.5%, down from 16.1% in August of the previous year.
The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) represents the 14 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.