EU car market shrinks 2.6% in January, electric cars gain ground

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The European passenger car market contracted by 2.6% year-on-year in January, with 831,203 new automobile registrations, according to an industry report released on Tuesday.

The EU’s major car markets posted declines, with France leading the fall at 6.2%, followed by Italy (5.8%) and Germany (2.8%), the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said.

Spain bucked the trend, recording a 5.3% increase in new car registrations.

Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) continued their upward trajectory, capturing 15% of the EU market share this January, up from 10.9% a year ago.

New BEV sales surged by 34% to 124,341 units, with Germany (+53.5%), Belgium (+37.2%), and the Netherlands (+28.2%) showing strong growth. France, however, saw a slight decline of 0.5%.

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) further cemented their dominance, accounting for 34.9% of the EU market in January. Registrations of HEVs soared 18.4% to 290,014 units, led by significant growth in key markets such as France (+52.2%), Spain (+23.5%), Germany (+13.7%), and Italy (+10.6%).

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) saw a notable decrease, with registrations falling by 8.5% to 61,406 units. Major markets like Belgium (-66.6%) and France (-54%) drove this decline, reducing the market share of PHEVs to 7.4%.

Traditional petrol and diesel vehicles faced sharp declines in January as petrol car registrations plunged by 18.9%, with major markets such as France (-28.2%), Germany (-23.7%), Italy (-17%), and Spain (-11.1%) contributing to the drop. The market share of petrol vehicles declined to 29.4%, down from 35.4% a year ago.

Diesel car registrations fared worse, plummeting by 27%, reducing their market share to 10% in January. Double-digit declines were recorded in most EU markets.