New car registrations: +1.1% in October 2024; year to date battery electric sales 4.9%

In October 2024, new EU car registrations reversed their decline, recording a modest 1.1% increase. Spain led the way with a robust 7.2% growth, while Germany rebounded with a 6% increase following three months of decline. Decreases were recorded in both France (-11.1%) and Italy (-9.1%).

Ten months into 2024, new car registrations remained stable (+0.7%), reaching 8.9 million units. The markets in Spain (+4.9%) and Italy (+0.9%) performed positively, while declines were witnessed in France and Germany (-2.7% and -0.4%, respectively).

New EU car registrations by power source

The battery-electric car market share for October 2024 remained stable at 14.4%. The year-to-date volumes dropped by 4.9%, while market share also fell to 13.2% from 14% last year.

Plug-in hybrid car registrations for October 2024 also declined by 7.2%. The market share for this type of vehicle reached 7.7% this month, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Electric cars

Registrations of battery-electric cars rose by 2.4% to 124,907 units in October 2024. However, year-to-date market volume remained 4.9% lower than the same period last year, with the total market share at 14.4%. This decline was primarily driven by a significant decrease in registrations in Germany (-26.6%).

Plug-in hybrid car registrations fell by 7.2% last month, following significant declines in France (-26.9%) and Italy (-24.9%). In October, plug-in hybrids accounted for 7.7% of the car market, down from 8.4% last year. Year-to-date volumes were also down, decreasing by 7.9% compared to the same period last year.

Hybrid-electric registrations increased by 17.5% in October, with market share rising to 33.3%, up from 28.6% last October, exceeding for the second consecutive month petrol car registrations.

Petrol and diesel cars

In October 2024, petrol car sales dropped by 6.8% overall. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 32.7%, followed by Italy with a 10.1% decline. Spain recorded a more modest decrease of 1.6%, while Germany was the only major market to show growth, with petrol car registrations increasing by 3.7%.

Petrol cars now account for 30.8% of the market, down from 33.4% in the same month last year. The diesel car market declined by 7.6%, resulting in a 10.9% market share last October. Overall, decreases were observed in almost two-thirds of EU markets.

About ACEA

• The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) represents the 15 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group
• Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on www.twitter.com/ACEA_auto or www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/
• Contact: Pamela Kotzapasis, Publications Manager, [email protected]

About the EU automobile industry

• 12.9 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
• 8.3% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
• €392.2 billion in tax revenue for European governments
• €101.9 billion trade surplus for the European Union
• Over 7% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
• €59.1 billion in R&D spending annually, 31% of EU total