EU new car registrations increased ~21% in August with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) passing 20% share for the first time in history, according to the ACEA* trade group. During August 2023, there were 787,626 registered units, marking the thirteenth consecutive month of growth.

“Despite August typically being a slower month for car sales, double-digit gains indicate that the EU market is rebounding from last year’s component shortages. There were double-digit percentage gains in most markets, including the three largest: Germany (+37.3%), France (+24.3%), and Italy (+11.9%), ACEA said.

From January to August 2023, new EU car registrations grew substantially (+17.9%), totaling 7.1 million units. However, even with this year-to-date improvement, the market trails the pre-COVID-pandemic level of 9 million units sold in 2019. Most markets experienced double-digit percentage gains in this eight-month period, including the four largest: Spain (+20.5%), Italy (+20.2%), France (+16.6%), and Germany (+16.5%).

Registrations by Type

In August, the market share of battery-electric cars exceeded 20% for the first time (up from 11.6% in August last year), overtaking diesel for the second time this year and becoming the third-most-popular choice for new car buyers. Hybrid-electric cars held position as buyers’ second choice, with a 24% market share. While petrol cars are still the most popular choice, market share decreased from 38.7% in August 2022 to 32.7%.

*ACEA: The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) represents the 14 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, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.