Last month, European new passenger cars registrations totalled 960,191 units – an increase of 16% marking a ninth consecutive month of growth. Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, commented: “These results are directly related to the easing of supply chain pressures which has increased the availability of new cars. On top of this, demand has continued to rise in response to the push from OEMs to widen their EV offering.”
The positive results last month are largely owed to the increasing demand for BEVs (battery electric vehicles). According to JATO Dynamics’ data for 28 European markets, these vehicles represented 13% of the total volume – an increase of almost three percentage points compared to April 2022. Munoz, continued: “Tesla and MG fuelled the growth of BEVs last month. Consumers appear to be responding well to wider competitive offers and good deals presented by the two OEMs.”
Volkswagen Group led the BEV rankings with an increase in registrations of 98% to almost 31,900 units – more than double the 14,200 units registered by Tesla – up by 865%. Stellantis followed in second place but lost ground due to a significantly smaller increase in BEV volumes of just 5%. Geely, and the remaining Chinese manufacturers combined, also performed well registering a total 8,334 and 7,114 units respectively.
Stellantis, Volkswagen Group, and Geely also led in registrations of PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). Demand for these vehicles remained stable with a total of 71,960 registered units.
Marginal market share for Chinese-made cars
Last month, vehicles manufactured in China accounted for just 3.4% of all new vehicle registrations with a total of nearly 32,000 units. This figure includes vehicles produced by Chinese OEMs and vehicles produced by Western OEMs in China such as the BMW iX3, Smart #1, Polestar 2, Dacia Spring, and Citroën C5 X.
Munoz, commented: “In contrast to the emerging narrative, China’s carmakers are gaining traction less quickly than many have predicted. While analysts anticipated a more dramatic untick in demand, there remains a need to increase awareness and shift perceptions for these vehicles to become popular with consumers.”
SUVs growth continues
Last month, SUV registrations totalled just over 492,000 units to reach a record market share of 51.3% – an increase 0.7 percentage points when compared with April 2022. Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, and Hyundai-Kia dominated the segment. The SUV model ranking was led by the Volkswagen T-Roc, Toyota Yaris Cross, Dacia Duster, Kia Sportage, and Hyundai Tucson.
