Seven months into 2024, new car registrations increased by 3.9%, reaching more than 6.5 million units. This is the result of a low comparison base. The bloc’s largest markets all showed positive but modest performance, with Spain (+5.6%), Italy (+5.2%), Germany (+4.3%), and France (+2.2%) all recording growth.

New EU car registrations by power source

In July, battery-electric cars accounted for 12.1% of the EU car market, down from 13.5% the previous year. Hybrid-electric vehicles increased their market share, growing from 25.5% to 32%. The combined share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 46%, down from 50%.

Electric cars

In July 2024, registrations of battery-electric (BEV) cars declined by 10.8% to 102,705 units, with their total market share slipping to 12.1% from 13.5% a year before. Despite gains in Belgium (+44.2%), the Netherlands (+8.9%), and France (+1%), Germany’s decline (-36.8%) could not be offset. From January to July, 815,399 new battery-electric cars were registered, representing 12.5% of the market.

Plug-in hybrid car registrations saw a decline (-14.1%) last month, despite a 3.2% increase in Germany. In July, plug-in hybrids accounted for 6.8% of the total car market, down from 7.9% last year, with 57,679 units sold.

Hybrid-electric vehicles saw growth in July, with car registrations rising by 25.7% to 273,003 units. All four of the largest markets for this segment recorded double-digit gains: France (+47.4%), Spain (+31.5%), Germany (+22.4%), and Italy (+17.4%). This growth pushed the hybrid-electric market share to 32%, up from 25.5% in July 2023.

Petrol and diesel cars

In July 2024, petrol car sales dropped by 7%. The modest growth in key markets such as Italy (+3.8%) and Germany (+0.1%) could not counteract declines in France (‑22.6%) and Spain (-12.5%). Petrol cars now represent 33.4% of the market, down from 35.9% in July last year.

The diesel car market saw a decline of 10.1%, resulting in a 12.6% share of the market last July. While Germany experienced a moderate gain of 1.4%, substantial decreases were observed in other major markets like Italy (-24.6%), France (-23.9%), and Spain (-11.6%).

In July 2024, new EU car registrations saw a modest increase (+0.2%) with mixed results across the region’s four major markets: Italy (+4.7%) and Spain (+3.4%) recorded moderate gains, while the French (-2.3%) and German (-2.1%) markets experienced declines.