The timing of the Easter holidays had a negative impact on sales last month in most EU markets, including the four largest markets: Germany (-6.2%), Spain (-4.7%), Italy (-3.7%) and France (-1.5%). It affected me.
Vehicle registrations rose 4.4% to nearly 2.8 million vehicles in the first quarter of this year. The bloc’s main markets showed solid growth between January and March, with Italy and France each posting a 5.7% increase, followed by Germany (4.2%) and Spain (3.1%).
EU new vehicle registration by power source
last march Changes were seen in the composition of the automobile market. The share of battery electric vehicles fell to 13% from 13.9% last year, while rechargeable hybrid electric vehicles rose to 29% from 24.4%. Gasoline and diesel together account for less than half of the market (51.8% to 47.8%).
Electric car
in March 2024, battery electric vehicle registrations decreased by 11.3% to 134,397 vehicles, reflecting the broader market weakness. As a result, its market share shrank from 13.9% in March 2023 to 13% in the same month this year. Of the three largest BEV markets, Belgium (+23.8%) and France (+10.9%) recorded double-digit increases, while Germany faced a significant decline of 28.9%. did. The first quarter of 2024 ended with a total of 332,999 new battery electric vehicle registrations, an increase of 3.8% year-on-year.
Hybrid electric vehicles stood out, with registrations increasing 12.6% in March despite the overall market weakness. Two of the three largest HEV markets, France and Italy, recorded significant increases of 29.6% and 8.3%, respectively. On the other hand, Germany saw a slight decrease of 0.3%. The segment reached sales of 299,426 units, capturing 29% of the market, up from 24.4% in March 2023.
Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid registrations fell by 6.5% last month, with declines of 4.5% and 15.3% in Germany and Belgium respectively. France bucked this trend with a modest increase of 3.6%. The number of plug-in hybrid vehicles sold in March was 73,029 units, accounting for 7.1% of the total automobile market.
gasoline and diesel cars
in March 2024, of all powertrain segments, gasoline and diesel were the most affected by the overall market downturn. Gasoline sales fell by 10.2%, with notable declines in most EU markets including France (-17.7%), Spain (-10.1%) and Germany (-3.4%). In contrast, Italy recorded growth of 5.7%. As a result, market share decreased from 37.4% to 35.4% compared to March last year.
The slump in the diesel market was even more severe, dropping 18.5% in March. The largest markets, France (-32.1%), Spain (-38%) and Italy (-27.6%), saw significant declines, while Germany saw a slight decline of 0.5%. Diesel vehicles sold 128,227 units, with a market share of 12.4%, down from 14.4% last year.
EU car registrations fell by 5.2% in March, the first decline this year. Battery electric vehicle sales decreased by 11.3% and gained 13% of the market share, while the share of hybrid vehicles increased from 24.4% to 29%. Gasoline and diesel sales declined significantly.
