EU car market grows in September led by electric vehicle sales

The EU passenger car market expanded 10% in September compared to the same month last year, with 888,672 new automobile registrations, according to data released Tuesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

In Europe, including the EU, the European Free Trade Association, and the UK, the new sales also rose 10.7% year-on-year to 1.23 million units in the same period.

Among the EU’s major car markets, Spain led with a 16.4% increase, followed by Germany at 12.8%, and Italy with 4.2%.

Electric vehicles continued to drive the market growth in the EU. Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales surged 20% year-on-year in September, reaching 167,586 units and accounting for 18.9% of total new car sales. Spain in particular saw a 59.7% surge in BEV sales, while Germany and France recorded gains of 31.9% and 11.2%, respectively.

Hybrid-electric vehicles further cemented their dominance, accounting for 34.7% of the EU market in September. Registrations of HEVs rose 15.9% to 308,037 units.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles also showed robust growth, with sales climbing 65.4% to 91,148 units.

In contrast, traditional internal combustion engine vehicles saw sharp declines. Petrol car registrations fell 7.8%, while their market share was down to 24.9%.

Meanwhile, diesel car registrations dropped 14.3%, reducing their market share to 8.1% in September. Double-digit declines were recorded in most EU markets.

AA