By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The EU passenger car market grew by 7.4% in July compared to the same month last year, with 914,680 new automobile registrations, according to data released Thursday by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
In Europe, including the EU, the European Free Trade Association, and the UK, the new sales also rose 5.9% year-on-year to 1.085 million units in the same period.
Among the EU’s major car markets, Spain led with a 17.1% increase, followed by Germany at 11.1%. However, France and Italy bucked the trend, posting declines of 7.7% and 5.1%, respectively.
Electric vehicles continued to drive market growth. Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales surged 39.1% year-on-year in July, reaching 142,699 units and accounting for 15.6% of total new car sales. Spain saw a 127.1% surge in BEV sales, while Germany and Italy recorded gains of 58% and 37.6%, respectively.
Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) further cemented their dominance, accounting for 34.7% of the EU market in July. Registrations of HEVs rose 14.3% to 313,221 units.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) also showed robust growth, with sales rising 56.9% to 91,190 units.
In contrast, traditional internal combustion engine vehicles saw sharp declines. Petrol car registrations fell 12%, dropping their market share to 28.3%.
Diesel car registrations fared worse, plummeting by 15.2%, reducing their market share to 9.5% in July. Double-digit declines were recorded in most EU markets.