In June 2023, the EU car market grew by 17,8% to 1 million registered units, according to the figures of the European car manufacturers association ACEA. In the first half of 2023, new EU car registrations increased significantly (+17,9%), reaching 5,4 million units.

The growth in June can be attributed to the region’s rebound from a low comparison base last year, primarily driven by vehicle component shortages. Except for Hungary (–1,4%), all the EU markets grew, including the four largest: Germany (+24,8%), Spain (+13,3%), France (+11,5%), and Italy (+9,1%).

Looking at the last six months, the improvements indicate that the European automotive industry is recovering from supply disruptions caused by the pandemic. However, cumulative volumes are still 21% lower compared to 2019.

Most of the region’s markets grew significantly in the first six months of 2023, including the four largest ones: Spain (+24,0%), Italy (+22,8%), France (+15%), and Germany (+12,8%).

Electric overtakes diesel

In June, the battery–electric car market share surged from 10,7% to 15,1%, overtaking diesel share for the first time. Hybrid–electric cars remained the second–most popular choice among new car buyers, representing 24,3% of the market. However, petrol cars retained the largest share, accounting for 36,3%.

Electric cars have overtaken diesel ones for the first time. Gasoline remains first, followed by hybrid-electric /ACEA

In June, new registrations of battery–electric cars in the EU increased by a significant 66,2%, reaching 158 252 units. Most EU markets recorded impressive double– and triple–digit percentage gains, including the largest, such as the Netherlands (+90,1%), Germany (+64,4%), and France (+52,0%). This contributed to a year–to–date growth of 53,8%, with 703 586 units sold between January and June.

New hybrid–electric car registrations surged by 32,4% in June, reaching 254 100 units. This growth was primarily driven by substantial gains in the bloc’s largest markets: Germany (+59,1%), Italy (+29,9%), France (+27,9%), and Spain (+22,7%). Cumulatively, hybrid–electric car sales recorded a remarkable 27,9% increase from January to June, reaching nearly 1,4 million units and capturing 25% of the market.

In June, the EU market for new plug–in hybrid cars rebounded, with registrations increasing by 13,4%. Although there was a significant –39,2% sales decline in Germany, the largest market for this fuel type, the substantial increase in France (+49,9%) and Spain (+51,7%) largely offset this decline.

However, the overall market share of plug-in hybrid cars decreased to 7,9% from 8,2% in June last year, despite June’s increase in registrations.

Gasoline is still on top

In June, the EU gasoline car market grew 11%, totaling 379 067 units. However, the market share decreased to 36,3% from 38,5% in June 2022. The growth was primarily driven by solid gains in the four largest EU markets, particularly Germany (+19,8%) and Spain (+11,9%). Over 2 million gasoline cars were sold in the EU in the first half of the year, a notable 15,9% increase compared to 2022.

In contrast, the EU market for diesel cars continued to decline (–9,4%) last month, despite growth in Germany (+10,3%) and Central European markets, particularly Romania (+22,4%). Diesel cars now represent a market share of 13,4%, down from 17,4% in June last year.

Non-EU

When we look at the June registrations in the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland) and the UK, we spot the same tendencies as in the European Union. Most noticeable are the huge increase of plug-in hybrid cars in the UK (+65,5%) and the total absence of alternatively fueled cars (gas, hydrogen,…) and in the EFTA countries and the UK.

When we look at the first half of the year, we see an increase in overall car registrations of 7% in the EFTA countries (Norway is receding (-2,9%), and the other two are growing 10 and 12,9%), while the UK grows by 18,4%.

Electric cars still grew +10,5% in the EFTA countries (with growth even in Norway, where electric cars dominate the market), and hybrid-electric increased by almost one-fourth. Diesel, on the contrary, also lost terrain, -11,3% in the EFTA countries, -18,8% in the UK.

By brand

For the first six months of 2023, the Volkswagen Group still dominates the EU market with a market share of 26,1% (up from 24,8% in 2022), followed by Stellantis (18,8, down from 20,8%), the Renault Group (11,1%, up 0,5%), the Hyundai Group (8,4%, down from 9,6%) and the Toyota Group (6,8%, down from 7,2%).

BMW Group is sixth with a 6,8% market share, and Mercedes-Benz is seventh with a 5,5% market share. Tesla increased its market share from 1,1 to 2,5%.

Almost all brands sold more cars in the first half, except for Citroën (-0,4%), Fiat (-3,2%), Jaguar (-17,6%), Mitsubishi (-33,2%), and Honda (-41,7%).

We could notice remarkable sales boosts for Tesla (+165,7%), Alfa Romeo (+117,5%), Lexus (+63,1%), Mazda (+45,6%), Suzuki (+42,2%),  Cupra (+38,2%) and Dacia (+30,1%).