New car sales charged by electric demand
New car sales in Europe have increased by 5.3% year-to-date, driven by growing demand for electric vehicles.
Figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association have revealed that 1,641,333 new electric cars were registered in the first eight months of the year, representing 21.7% of the EU market compared to 15.8% a year ago.
Meanwhile, hybrid car registrations rose to 2,759,718 units between January and August to account for 36.6% of the total EU market, and plug-in hybrids were up to 758,082 units in the same period.
ACEA further found that the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 29%, compared with 37.5% a year earlier.
Petrol registrations were down 18.6% to 1,634,733 units, with its market share falling from 28% last year to just 21.7%, while diesel vehicles accounted for 7.3% of new car sales compared to 9.4% last year.
