EU car sales plunge 18.3% in August ’24

The European Union (EU) car registrations plummeted by 18.3 per cent in August 2024, with significant losses across major markets. Germany, France, and Italy faced double-digit declines of 27.8 per cent, 24.3 per cent, and 13.4 per cent respectively, while Spain saw a 6.5 per cent drop.

Over the first eight months of the year, new registrations rose by 1.4 per cent to nearly 7.2 million units. Spain (4.5 per cent) and Italy (3.8 per cent) posted modest gains, whereas France and Germany saw losses of 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent.

Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations fell sharply by 43.9 per cent to 92,627 units, decreasing their market share to 14.4 per cent from 21 per cent last year.

This decline was notably severe in Germany by 68.8 per cent and France by 33.1 per cent. Plug-in hybrids also saw a 22.3 per cent drop, making up 7.1 per cent of the market.

In contrast, hybrid-electric vehicles grew by 6.6 per cent to 201,552 units, with Spain, France, and Italy showing increases. Petrol and diesel car sales both fell, with petrol vehicles down by 17.1 per cent and diesel by 26.4 per cent.