New car sales in the European Union last month dropped by 7.2% in the latest sign of the continuing struggles of the car manufacturing sector amid attempts to electrify their lineup in compliance with government regulations.
In the first half of the year, total new car registrations in the EU fell by 1.9%, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association showed. The share of electric cars in the half-year total stood at 15.6%, which the EAMA said was “still far from where it needs to be at this point in the transition.” Still, it was an increase from the 12.5% share EVs had in the first half of 2024.
Gasoline and diesel vehicles as a share of all new cars sold in the European Union between January and June declined to 37.8%, down from 48.2% a year earlier. Hybrid vehicles accounted for 34.8% of all new car sales.
Gasoline car registrations in the first six months of the year declined by a sizable 21.2% while diesel vehicle sales fell by 28.1%, as governments doubled down on incentivizing the switch to electric cars. For now, it seems that hybrid vehicles are the most attractive to buyers. Of all the three types of cars that fall within the broader “electric” category, hybrid cars booked a 41.6% sales increase in June alone from a year ago.
However, overall car sales fell across most of the bloc’s biggest markets, with Italy seeing a drop of 17.4%, followed by Germany, which saw a car sales decline of 13.8%, and France, where new car sales fell by 6.7%. Spain, on the other hand, registered a 15.2% increase in new car sales in June.
All European carmakers saw declines in their sales in June, specifically, as did Tesla and Hyundai. For Tesla, June was the sixth month in a row of declining sales amid intensifying competition and likely a protest reaction from EV lovers in Europe to Elon Musk’s political endeavours with the Trump administration.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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