The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) revealed this Thursday that new car sales in the European Union recorded a 3% decline in May, pressured by the decline in three of the four main markets in the Old Continent: Italy (-6.6%), Germany (-4.3%), and France (-2.9%).
Despite the slowdown in May, new car registrations in the first five months of 2024 increased by 4.6%, to 4.6 million units sold since the beginning of the year.
According to ACEA data, the largest EU markets showed positive performance, with Spain leading the way (growing by 6.8%), Germany (5.2%), France (4.9%), and Italy (3.4%).
According to ACEA, in May 2024, new electric vehicle registrations recorded a year-on-year decrease of 12%, to 114,308 units, with a total market share falling to 12.5%. Electric car sales fell particularly in Germany (-30.6%) and the Netherlands (-11.7%).
In the January to May period, a total of 556,276 new electric vehicles were placed on the market, representing a 2% increase compared to the same period last year.
As for plug-in hybrid cars, they also saw a decrease of 14.7% in May compared to the same period in 2023, with significant reductions in two of the largest markets: Belgium (-36.6%) and France (-19.4%). The German market, on the other hand, experienced a growth of 1.7%, which according to ACEA, “was not enough to offset the overall negative trend”. In May, plug-in hybrids accounted for 6.5% of the total car market, with 59,333 units sold.
As for gasoline car sales, ACEA revealed that they decreased by 5.6% year-on-year in May, reaching a total of 323,551 units. The biggest year-on-year decreases were recorded in France (20.3%) and Spain (-1.8%), while Italy and Germany saw growth rates of 4.1% and 2.1%, respectively. With these results, the market share of gasoline cars in the EU decreased from 36.5% to 35.5% compared to May 2023.
On the other hand, the market for cars equipped with diesel engines saw a decrease of 11.4%, reaching 118,733 units, which represents a market share of 13%. The decrease was justified by the slowdown in sales in Italy (-30.5%), France (-24.8%), and Spain (-15.4%), while Germany offset the losses with a growth of 3.2%.
