Electric car sales in the European Union (EU) accounted for nearly half of all new passenger car registrations in the EU between January and November 2023. Data released on Wednesday (12/20/2023) indicated that sales had already surpassed the halfway mark in November alone.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) stated that electric vehicles, including fully electric models, plug-in hybrids, or full hybrids, contributed to over 47.6 percent of all new passenger car registrations in the EU in November. This figure marked an increase from 43 percent during the same period last year.
Figures showed a 6.7 percent increase in new car registrations in the EU in November, marking 16 consecutive months of growth, with a year-on-year rise in electric vehicle registrations by 13.3 percent. Data revealed a 4.2 percent growth in registrations of gasoline-powered cars, while diesel declined by 10.3 percent.
Registrations for fully electric cars increased by 16.4 percent from the previous year, totaling 144,378 vehicles, even as registrations in Germany, the largest electric vehicle market in Europe, dropped by 22.5 percent to 44,942 vehicles.
Within the electric market, consumers continued to favor hybrid electric vehicles, with an annual surge of 28.7 percent, while demand for plug-in hybrid vehicles decreased by 22.1 percent.
The registrations of hybrid electric cars in Germany, France, and Italy reached over 1.5 million vehicles to date out of nearly 2.5 million total vehicles in the EU. Despite the rise in electric vehicles, ACEA warned in early December that the electric vehicle sector in Europe risked falling behind compared to other regions due to a lack of a robust EU industrial strategy, amidst China’s dominance in supply chains and US incentives for its carmakers.
Several carmakers and analysts also cited the high demand for electric vehicles over the past few months. Europe’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen, stated in October that the demand for electric vehicles hadn’t grown as anticipated.
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Meanwhile, luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz cautioned about a “brutal” electric vehicle market with significant price cuts and supply chain issues. Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, recorded an almost 45 percent surge in the same month, constituting nearly 22 percent of fully electric car registrations in the EU.
The number of newly registered vehicles in November in the EU, the UK, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) grew by six percent to 1.08 million vehicles, ACEA reported.
