Electric cars overtook diesel in June for the first time in new car sales in Europe, the manufacturers’ association (ACEA) announced on Wednesday. With 158,000 vehicles sold, electric vehicles have increased from 10.7 to 15.1% market share in one year. They notably exploded in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium. This increase is driven in particular by Tesla, which has slashed its prices: one in five electric cars sold in Europe in the first half bears the capital T badge.
Diesel continues to decline despite jumps in Germany and Central Europe, and now accounts for 13.4% of sales. Hybrid cars have also made strong progress and represent 24.3% of the market, driven by Germany, France and Italy. Separately, sales of rechargeable hybrids (which can be plugged into a socket or terminal) are down over one year, with 7.9% of the market. However, gasoline remains the main energy in the EU with 36.3% of sales in June, up 11%, with the overall market rebound.
More broadly, new car sales rebounded in Europe in the first half, with a 17.9% increase over one year. With 5.4 million cars sold, however, the market remains 21% lower than in the first half of 2019, the last year of all records before the Covid. “The progress of the last few months shows that the European automotive industry is recovering from the logistical problems caused by the pandemic”, underlines the ACEA in a press release. The European automotive market has started to grow sustainably again since August 2022, when the Covid crisis, combined with a shortage of parts including crucial electronic components, had dealt it a very hard blow.
