Euronews Business breaks down the latest data on the European car market.
ADVERTISEMENTLast year saw a positive result for the EU car market, with a solid 13.9% expansion over 2022 and reaching a total volume of 10.5 million vehicles, according to the latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).
Top markets included Italy (+18.9%), Spain (+16.7%), and France (+16.1%). In contrast, Germany, the largest market in Europe, saw a modest 7.3% rise year-on-year, influenced by its weaker performance in December.
December marked the first month of contraction in the entire EU car market after 16 consecutive months of growth. A 3.3% decline was recorded in the month, with 867,052 units in sales and the decline linked to the exceptional performance in December 2022.
The number of people using cars in Europe is on the rise. The average number of passenger cars per 1,000 EU inhabitants increased by 14.3%, up from 490 to 560 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022, with Italy dominating the rankings (684), followed by Luxembourg (678), Finland (661), and Cyprus (658), according to the latest Eurostat data.
Battery, hybrid, and traditional cars: Which group performed best?
The overall volume of battery-electric car sales for the full year of 2023 surpassed 1.5 million units, reflecting a substantial 37% increase from 2022, with electric cars claiming a 14.6% market share. In December, however, sales fell for the first time since April 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic's peak), dropping by 16.9% to 160,700 units. According to ACEA, this was influenced by a strong December 2022 and a downturn in Germany (-47.6%), the largest market for electric vehicles.
Hybrid-electric car registrations, however, surged by 26% in December, driven by gains in Germany, France, and Spain. This contributed to a 29.5% increase in 2023, with more than 2.7 million units sold, comprising a quarter of the EU market share. In contrast, plug-in hybrid electric car sales declined by 40.2% in December 2023, leading to a 7% drop compared with 2022, with a 7.7% market share.
As for traditional cars, the EU experienced a 5.1% growth in petrol car sales in December, totalling 3.7 million units, with significant contributions from key markets such as Italy and Germany.
Holding the lead with a 35.3% market share in 2023, petrol cars saw a slight decline from 36.4% in 2022.
Conversely, the EU diesel car market continued its decline in December, contracting by 9.1%, with sales reaching 1.4 million units in 2023, accounting for a market share of 13.6%, down from 16.4% in 2022.
