11:00 am, September 19, 2024
European sales of BEVs went through the floor last month, with the powertrain enduring its biggest drop in popularity for more than seven years.
That is according to new statistics from JATO Dynamics, which has been analysing sales figures from across 28 European countries.
The results found that overall 753,482 new cars were registered throughout Europe in August – a drop of 16% compared to the same point last year.
The result is even more stark when only considering BEVs, which plummeted 36% year-on-year, with a total of 125,070 new registrations in the eighth month of the year.
The decline is the biggest drop off for electric vehicles since January 2017, which was the month that the registration figures were first recorded.
Explaining the reason for the drastic fall back, experts pointed to a number of factors, including cost concerns.
Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: ‘The industry is going to face further challenges in the coming months.
‘Buyers are still grappling with the pressure to make the switch to electric, and EVs continue to be more expensive than already-pricey combustion engine cars.”
‘A total of 8.64 million new cars have been registered in Europe so far in 2024 – an increase of just 1.9% compared to the same period last year. If this trend continues, the end-of-year results could present an overall decline in vehicle registrations.
‘Appetite for BEVs among consumers is quickly diminishing. There are many factors contributing to this, including the lack of clarity around incentives, high prices and concerns around the low residual value of EVs.’
Looking at the data more closely, it is revealed that the market share of BEVs fell to just 16.6% last month, compared to 21.8% last August. Despite this, the figure still remains up on the same point in both 2022 and 2021.
Experts found that the carmakers which suffered the most from the drop in BEV registrations were Renault Group (-64%), SAIC (-65%); Stellantis (-52%), Hyundai-Kia (-51%); and Tesla (-44%).
On a brand level, Volkswagen suffered a fall of 46% and was outsold by BMW. Other fallers included Smart (-68%) MG (-65%), Opel/Vauxhall (-63%), Citroen (-63%), Fiat (-55%), Hyundai (-53%), Kia (-50%); and Polestar (-47%).
Bucking the trend were the Chinese brands, which increased their market share within the BEV segment to 15.5%.
The best-selling BEV was the Tesla Model Y, despite sales of the SUV dipping by 38%.
Speaking about EVs more generally, Munoz said: ‘While market share has risen from previous years, the increase is not as large as we would expect given the significant amount of time that has passed.’
Sandero remains best-seller
Away from the struggles of EVs, it was a good month for the Dacia Sandero, which retained its title as Europe’s best-selling car with 16,653 registrations.
Despite sales falling compared to last year, the Model Y was actually the second-best seller across the continent, narrowly ahead of the Toyota Yaris Cross and Volkswagen T-Roc.
When broken down by brand, Volkswagen was the best seller overall in August, with 82,057 new car registrations.
Tesla was the best-selling pure-electric brand with 19,088 registrations, which placed it 15th overall.
