“New Car Sales in Europe Rise for Ninth Consecutive Month According to ACEA Report”

2023-05-17 08:28:00

For the ninth consecutive month, new car sales rose in Europe. Just over 803,000 new private vehicles were put into circulation in the countries of the European Union in April. That is an increase of 17.2% over one year, said the Association of Automobile Manufacturers of the Old Continent (ACEA) in a press release published on Wednesday.

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All major EU markets recorded solid growth last month. Particularly Italy (+29.2% and more than 125,000 vehicles sold), in the lead for this month of April, followed by France (+21.9% or more than 132,000 sales).

Still far from pre-Covid levels

Over the first four months of the year, the European market grew by 17.8% to reach 3.5 million registered cars. It was driven mainly by Spain (+33.7%) and Italy (+26.9%) followed by France (+16.7%) and, to a lesser extent, Germany ( +7.9%).

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While the European market has started to grow sustainably once more since August 2022, pre-crisis levels have still not been exceeded. Not even achieved. The sector is struggling to recover from both the Covid-19 crisis and the shortage of parts it has faced, including crucial electronic components.

“Despite the year-on-year improvement, sales remain 22.8% lower compared to the same period of 2019, illustrating the continued difficulties of the European automotive market”, thus noticed the ACEA.

Electric ones are popular

In terms of engines, electric cars continued to grow in April. Nearly 95,000 units were sold, an increase of 51.9%. “Most EU markets recorded double and triple digit growth,” emphasizes the ACEA. France is at the top of electric car sales (+34.8%), just ahead of Germany (+34.1%).

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In total, electric vehicles now represent 11.8% of the European market (+2.7 points over one year). Their share should also only increase in the future since the EU validated at the end of March the end of the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines in 2035.

Petrol-powered cars nevertheless remain in the majority among new registrations, with sales up 17.3% reaching 306,757 units. This represents a market share of 38.2%, stable compared to the same month last year. Hybrids (fuel-electricity) also continued to grow in April, with sales up 22.7% (199,407 units). They now occupy a market share of 24.8% (compared to 23.7% in April 2022).

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Volkswagen maintains its leading status

Since the beginning of the year, Volkswagen has consolidated its position as the biggest seller of automobiles in Europe, reigning over 26.1% of the market (+1.5 points in one year). The German manufacturer was helped by the dynamism of its Czech brand Skoda and Cupra, sports versions of the Spanish Seat.

It is followed by the Franco-Italian-American Stellantis (19.2% of the market, down 1.2 points over one year), whose Alfa Romeo brand jumped 145.6% over one year thanks to new models. And by the French Renault, which reached 10.9% of the European market (+1 point in one year), served by the dynamism of Dacia low-cost cars whose volumes grew by 42.3%.

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At the bottom of the volume table, the American Tesla is benefiting from the craze for electric cars, since its registrations have more than doubled over one year since the start of 2023 (+112.4%), allowing it to overtake Volvo and Nissan. .

(With AFP)