According to data released by the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), as carmakers such as Volkswagen Group and Stellantis face weak demand, especially for electric vehicles, the number of new car registrations in Europe reached 1.
38 million in March, down 2.
8% from a year earlier and the second year-on-year decline in four months.
But thanks to growth in the previous two months, new car registrations in Europe rose 5 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 3.
395 million.
Pure electricity sales in Europe fell 11% in March.
From a market point of view, new car sales in many European countries fell in March compared with the same period last year, in part because of Easter.
Among the five major European car markets, in addition to the UK (+ 10.
4%), sales in Germany (- 6.
2%), Spain (- 4.
7%), Italy (- 3.
7%) and France (- 1.
5%) also declined to varying degrees.
However, in the first quarter, sales in many European countries maintained growth, especially in the five major European car markets, with new car sales growing by 10.
4% in the UK, 5.
7% in Italy and France, and 4.
2% in Germany and 3.
1% in Spain.
From the perspective of fuel type, the market of pure electric vehicles in Europe is more disadvantageous.
Sales of pure electric vehicles in Europe fell 11 per cent in March from a year earlier as demand cooled in Germany, Sweden and Norway.
Of this total, sales of pure electric vehicles in Italy fell by 34% as consumers delayed buying electric vehicles in anticipation of new subsidies from the government.
The German government eliminated subsidies for pure electric vehicles last year, and sales of pure electric vehicles fell 29 per cent, even though carmakers such as Volkswagen paid out of their own pockets to make up for cuts by the state.
In terms of automakers, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault remained Europe’s best-selling automakers in March, but European sales of Volkswagen and Stellantis fell 6.
6% and 8.
7%, respectively, while Renault grew 2.
7% year-on-year.
It is worth noting that Tesla’s situation in the European market was not satisfactory, with sales plunging 35%, mainly due to tensions in the Red Sea, which led to the diversion of ships, forced delays in the delivery of spare parts, and forced factories to stop production.
In addition, a suspected arson incident also led to a power outage at Tesla’s German factory.
SAIC’s sales in Europe rose 8.
5 per cent to 25992 vehicles.
Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault were the best-selling automakers in Europe in the first quarter, with sales growth in Europe.
Tesla’s sales in Europe fell 8.
5 per cent in the first quarter due to March sales.
SAIC’s sales in Europe surged 30.
7% year-on-year to 58600 vehicles.
The European car market will face a difficult year in 2024, and it seems that the European car market will face a challenging year in 2024.
In some ways, the decline in new car sales in Europe in March also highlighted the pressure on carmakers at a time of rising interest rates, weak economic growth and declining subsidies to stimulate demand for electric vehicles.
Sales of pure electric vehicles in Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla all declined in the first quarter.
This trend is prompting some traditional carmakers to reconsider when to phase out internal combustion engine cars, while others are delaying the goal of pure electric vehicles.
In February, Mercedes-Benz delayed its sales forecast for pure electric vehicles, which are now expected to account for less than half of its sales for longer than expected.
In addition, the economic slowdown has the most obvious impact on Tesla.
Tesla sent an email to all employees on April 15, announcing that he would cut 10 per cent of staff worldwide.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk stressed in the letter: “from all aspects of the company, to reduce costs and improve productivity is extremely important.
” Although a range of new electric models have attracted more buyers in markets such as France and the UK, inadequate charging infrastructure is still a disadvantage hindering the wider popularity of electric vehicles.
Some European consumers are even turning to models with both batteries and internal combustion engines: sales of plug-in hybrid cars in Europe rose 0.
7% last month, surpassing not only all-electric cars but also gasoline cars.
By contrast, sales of gasoline vehicles in Europe fell 8 per cent, while registrations of diesel vehicles plunged 18 per cent.
European governments are phasing out incentives for electric vehicles amid weak demand for electric vehicles.
Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of Renault Group, also said recently: “subsidies should not be permanent, but we need subsidies now.
” Germany’s decision to abolish subsidies in December has greatly destabilized the electric car market, which could lead to some decline in demand, especially in 2024.
” Weak market demand, cancellation of incentives, anxiety about mileage, uncertain economic prospects and lack of affordable models have limited the further popularity of electric vehicles in Europe.
As Volkswagen and Stellantis say, the market in 2024 will be tough due to weak global demand for electric vehicles, increased competition from Chinese competitors, continuing cost pressures and geopolitical tensions.
However, market research firm GlobalData expects Western European markets to achieve their strongest annual sales results since COVID-19 ‘s epidemic in 2024.
GlobalData estimates that the number of passenger cars registered in western Europe was 1.
3 million in march, down 2.
5% from a year earlier, but cumulative passenger car sales in western Europe rose 4.
7% in the first quarter, thanks to strong growth in France, Italy and the UK in the first three months of this year, as well as most positive results in other countries.
Thanks to a more favourable supply environment, GlobalData expects passenger car sales in Western Europe to exceed 12 million in 2024, the strongest annual sales performance since the COVID-19 epidemic.
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