Germany, Europe’s largest car market, has suffered a series of blows in recent weeks, causing overall European car sales to fall 16.
5 per cent year-on-year to 755717 units in August, with electric vehicle sales falling sharply, according to data released by the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA).
August car market in Europe: overall sales fell 16.
5%, and pure electricity sales fell 36%.
From the market point of view, in August this year, four of the five major European car markets showed negative growth.
Germany (- 27.
8%), France (- 24.
3%) and Italy (- 13.
4%) even showed double-digit declines, while sales in Spain fell relatively slightly, at 6.5%. However, judging from the cumulative sales from January to August this year, car sales in many European car markets have maintained growth, albeit at a relatively small rate.
The cumulative number of new car registrations in Europe rose 1.
7 per cent to 8661401 in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period a year earlier, according to ACEA.
Of the five mainstream car markets, the UK (5.
1 per cent), Spain (+ 4.
5 per cent) and Italy (+ 3.
8 per cent) were positive.
On the other hand, sales in France (- 0.
5%) and Germany (- 0.
3%) have almost stagnated.
In terms of fuel types, the number of pure electric vehicles registered in Europe fell 36% to 125833 in August from a year earlier, and its market share also fell to 16.
7% from 21.
7% in the same period last year.
This is mainly due to significant declines in electric vehicle sales in Germany (- 68.
8%) and France (- 33.
1%), the two major pure electric vehicle markets (27024 and 13143, respectively).
The UK is the only one of the five mainstream car markets that has seen an increase in electric vehicle sales (up 10.
8 per cent to 19113 units from a year earlier).
As for plug-in hybrids, registrations in Europe fell 22.
1 per cent to 52860 last month from a year earlier, with a market share of 7 per cent, down from 7.
5 per cent in the same period last year.
Among them, sales of electric vehicles have declined in all major car markets in Europe.
In august, hybrids (including all-hybrid and light hybrids) were the only type of power in the European car market that saw sales growth, with registrations rising 8.
3% year-on-year to 236579 units.
Of this segment, three mainstream European markets grew, while one remained relatively stable: Spain (+ 12.
6%), France (+ 12.
5%), Italy (+ 2.
5%) and Germany (- 0.1%). Over the same period, European gasoline vehicle sales fell 17.
7 per cent year-on-year to 245308 vehicles, with significant declines in four major markets: France (- 36.
6 per cent), Italy (- 18.
8 per cent), Spain (- 17.
4 per cent) and Germany (- 7.
4 per cent).
Diesel vehicle market sales fell 26.
3 per cent to 76503 vehicles year-on-year, with double-digit declines in almost all European markets.
In terms of automakers, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault remained the best-selling automakers in Europe last month, but sales of all three companies showed double-digit declines.
among them, European sales of Volkswagen Group fell 13.
3% year-on-year to 209089 vehicles.
Stellantis sales fell 28.
7% to 103612 vehicles.
Renault Group sales fell 11.
9% to 69913 vehicles.
It is worth mentioning that Volvo and Honda were the only two car companies to grow in the European car market in August, with Volvo car sales surging 36.
7 per cent year-on-year to 20891 vehicles, the biggest year-on-year increase.
In the first eight months of this year, Volkswagen’s cumulative sales in Europe were 22.
53034 billion, up about 260000 from a year earlier.
although Stellantis’s sales in Europe fell sharply in August, the company’s cumulative sales in the first eight months fell only slightly to 1401967 compared with the same period a year earlier, but both Volkswagen and Renault showed an upward trend.
In addition, Volvo’s cumulative sales in Europe surged 35.
8 per cent year-on-year to 245858 vehicles, the third largest year-on-year increase in European sales, while Mitsubishi (68.
7 per cent) and Honda (39.
1 per cent) led the year-on-year growth.
By contrast, Tesla’s cumulative European sales fell 15.
8 per cent year-on-year to 201042 vehicles.
The European electric car market is in the doldrums and there is uncertainty in the overall car market.
The decline in European electric vehicle sales in August was partly due to differences in clean energy incentives across the European Union.
At the same time, European regulators also plan to impose high tariffs in an attempt to prevent Chinese-made affordable electric cars from entering the European market, which could increase the cost of buying cars for European consumers.
Demand for electric vehicles in Europe is falling as government incentives in many European countries are reduced and consumers with high living costs are shunning relatively expensive electric cars.
Germany, Europe’s largest car market, has led the slowdown.
As of August, the market share of pure electric vehicles in Europe had shrunk to 14 per cent, compared with slightly more than 15 per cent in the same period last year, subverting carmakers’ strategy to shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles.
As a result of the downturn in the electric vehicle market, automakers such as Volkswagen Group and Renault Group may face huge fines because stricter vehicle emission regulations in the European Union will take effect next year.
Companies such as Renault are urging the EU to be “flexible” in meeting electric vehicle targets, given the downturn in the electric vehicle market and the potential compliance costs for the car industry from new emissions regulations.
Hybrid cars, by contrast, have gained momentum in Europe in recent months as consumers see them as an affordable compromise between fuel-fueled and electric cars.
Overall, however, European consumers are buying fewer cars.
Since European car sales peaked at about 15 million in 2019, a series of problems ranging from outbreaks and supply chain disruptions to inflation and persistent economic weakness, particularly in Germany, Europe’s largest economy and largest car market, continue to hit European car sales.
Against this background, the prospects of Europe’s major automobile groups are not optimistic.
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, has scrapped a decades-old labour protection agreement and is considering closing its German plant for the first time because of lagging demand.
BMW cut its full-year profit margin forecast, in part because of weak electric vehicle sales.
Mercedes-Benz also slashed its adjusted profit margin forecast for its main automotive business to “7.5%, 8.5%” from 11%.
In other areas, American chipmaker Intel decided to postpone plans to build a plant in Germany, where the German government had reserved 10 billion euros ($11.
1 billion) in subsidiesPost.
, Constantin Gall, head of mobile mobility in Western Europe at Ernst & Young, said in a report: “The German economy has not yet gained momentum and consumers and investors are taking a wait-and-see attitude, while geopolitical tensions and violent conflicts are also affecting German market sentiment.
“, In September this year, Volkswagen Group stated that current car sales in Europe are lower than pre-COVID-19 levels, and this trend is expected to continue in the future.
However, some industry organizations are still optimistic about the European auto market.
Transport & Environment, a European environmental advocacy organization, said that the European automobile market will resume its original growth trend and predicts that by 2025, the EU pure electric vehicle market will account for 20% to 24% of the market, mainly due to the price of pure electric vehicles.
It will be further reduced.
Return to First Electric Network Home>.
