According to data published by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), the growth of electric vehicle sales in the European Union slowed in February. This will probably not surprise anyone, given the fact that the factories of some large manufacturers, such as Volkswagen or Stellantis, are currently not working at full capacity.

Despite the increase in the number of electric vehicle registrations, reaching 106,187 units, this figure represents only a 9% increase over the previous year. However, these figures are lower than the market as a whole, which recorded a growth of 10.1%, with 883,608 units sold.

Why is the demand for electric cars falling?

After two years of steady growth, EV market share remained at 12% in February, compared to 14.6% for all of 2023. There are several things that generally explain this stagnation. In Europe, this is partly due to a sharp fall in sales in Germany, the main European market, where the purchase aid was suddenly withdrawn at the end of 2023. Sales of electric cars were also weak in other important markets such as Spain and Italy, although growth was observed in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Unlike electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles recorded dynamic growth, accounting for most of the sales growth in most countries, with 255,511 units sold, up 24.7% from the previous year. Hybrids now account for 28.9% of the market, coming close to gasoline models with a share of 35.5%.
At the moment, hybrids remain more affordable and versatile than electric cars, even if the growth of electric models under €25,000 will help the market.
As for other engines, the diesel continued to fall, with 113,891 units sold, a drop of 5.1%. Now this energy makes up 12.9% of the European market.

The car market is gaining momentum again

Overall, the new car market saw positive growth in Germany (+5.4%), France (+13%), Italy (+12.8%) and Spain (+9.9%). %).
The Stellantis Group was the main beneficiary of this increase: 172,268 vehicles sold, an increase of 12%, and a market share of 19.5%. Volkswagen, the European leader, also recorded growth with a market share of 25.9% and 228,886 units sold, up 9.8% from February 2023. On the other hand, the Renault group’s market share fell to 10.4%, despite a 5.8% increase in sales (91,722 units).

Toyota showed clear growth (+16.8%) and returned to the same level with Hyundai-Kia, each of which has a market share of 7.8%.