Europe August car sales rise as EV demand offsets petrol and diesel slump

Demand for electrified cars continued to underpin growth in Europe’s car market in August, offsetting a steep decline in petrol and diesel vehicle sales, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (Acea) showed on Thursday.

Higher registrations, a proxy for sales, also helped Chinese carmakers expand their presence across the EU, Britain and the European Free Trade Association.

Acea said growth in new EU car registrations was supported by strong demand for electrified vehicles, aided by market support measures and a broader range of models available to consumers despite higher energy costs and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid car registrations climbed 52.2%, 13.5% and 3.4%, respectively, together accounting for more than 73% of all new vehicles.

Petrol and diesel car registrations fell 23.5% and 23.1%, respectively.

Registrations at Renault and Volkswagen slid between 4.4% and 3.6%, and while Stellantis gained 3.5% their combined market share slid to 49.8% from 52%.

Chinese carmakers BYD, Chery and Leapmotor sold between almost two and three times more than last year. Geely and SAIC and sales rose more than 25% and 32% respectively.

The combined market share of Chinese car brands increased to 11.3% from 7.1%.