From January to March, the hybrids gained a market share of 18.4 percent. They are mainly decided by consumers in economically strong EU countries. More than 120,000 Italians bought them, an increase of almost 247 percent.
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In France, almost 71,000 registered – an increase of 135 percent – and found over 100,000 owners in Germany. There’s an increase of 60.5 percent. In the Czech Republic, 5,412 hybrids were sold in the first quarter, up 127.5 percent year-on-year, according to ACEA.
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Cars with older drive technology continue to lose ground. While a year ago diesel cars still held about 30 percent of the EU market, in the first quarter of this year it was not even a quarter. The market share of petrol cars also fell by ten percentage points to 42.2 percent. Together, petrol and diesel cars accounted for 65.4 percent of newly registered cars.
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“We expect this trend to continue as the range of hybrid cars expands in the market, as their price approaches conventional, especially diesel engines. For example, Toyota offers a hybrid variant of almost all model lines, and hybrids already account for over 40 percent of our passenger car sales. At Lexus, it’s even over 90 percent, “said Martin Peleška, CEO of Toyota and Lexus in the Czech Republic.
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According to EY partner Petr Knap, alternative drives, especially hybrids and electric cars, will account for the majority of newly sold cars in five years. “Maybe the ratio will even change compared to today and alternative drives will even make up two thirds of the market,” he said.
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The number of new car registrations in the EU rose 3.2 percent to 2.6 million in the first quarter. It fell sharply in the first two months, but recovered in March, rising 87.3 percent. In the Czech Republic, the number of registrations has decreased.
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