The number of new cars in the EU has increased sharply: EADaily

In October 2023, 855 thousand new cars were put into use in the EU, which is 14.6% more than a year earlier, according to a fresh report from the professional representative organization of European automobile companies.

Three of the nation’s four largest auto markets posted double-digit year-over-year growth in October, the organization said. And if in Germany it was modest – 4.9%, then in France the number of registered new cars increased by 21.9%, in Italy – by 20.0%, in Spain – by 18.1%. In the first ten months of this year, almost 9 million cars were delivered to the EU market, which is 16.7% more than a year earlier. Annual growth in Italy in the first ten months was 20.4%, Spain – 18.5%, France – 16.5% and Germany – 13.5%.

In October this year, the share of battery-powered electric vehicles was 14.2%, up from 12% a year earlier. In October, compared to October a year earlier, the number of battery-powered electric vehicles put into operation increased by 36.3%, to 121 thousand. Two national markets saw triple-digit growth rates: 147.3% in Belgium and 100.7% in Denmark. In Germany, the largest market for electric vehicles, annual growth was 4.3%, bringing the number of electric vehicles registered year-to-date to 1.2 million, an increase of 53.1% compared to the first ten months of 2022.

The number of new registrations of hybrid electric vehicles in the EU increased by 38.6% in October. 57.9% in Germany, 40.1% in France and 28% in Italy. In the first ten months, growth was 29.8% and amounted to a total of 2.2 million cars, representing more than a quarter of all registrations. Sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles fell 5% over the past month to 72 thousand. In Belgium, sales increased by 70.2%, in France – by 34.2% more, in Germany and the largest market in this category – by 49.0% less. Plug-in hybrid market share fell to 8.4% in October from 10.2% a year earlier.

The number of petrol cars registered in October increased by 8.1% compared to the previous year, but the share of total registrations fell from 35.4% to 33.4%. Sales of gasoline vehicles in the main national markets increased significantly: in Italy – by 21.0%, France – by 17.4%, Spain – by 7.7% and Germany – by 7.5%.

In October, 13.2% fewer diesel cars were put into circulation in the EU than a year earlier. This share fell to 12.0% from 15.9% in October last year.