EV market share stable in EU in February, Belgium +66,9%

According to ACEA data, the EU car market surged 10.1% in February 2024 compared to the same month last year, reaching 883,608 units. Among the four major EU markets, France (+13%) and Italy (+12.8%) grew by double-digits, with Spain (+9.9%) and Germany (+5.4%) following.

In February, battery-electric cars held a market share of 12% (stable compared to February 2023), while hybrid-electric cars captured nearly 29% and PHEVs turned around 7.3%. The combined market share of gasoline and diesel cars was 48.4% in February 2024, a decrease from 51.9% last year.

In the first two months of this year, car registrations grew by 11.2% to 1.7 million units. The bloc’s major markets recorded solid growth, with Germany (+11.8%), Italy (+11.7%), France (+11.2%), and Spain (+8.7%) recording high single-digit or double-digit gains.

By power source

Last month, battery-electric car sales (BEVs) grew by a modest 9% to 106,187 units, maintaining a stable market share of 12%. Among the four largest markets, Belgium (+66.9%), France (+31.8%), and the Netherlands (+20.9%) saw significant double-digit gains, while registrations in Germany declined by 15.4%.

Sales of new hybrid-electric cars (HEVs) surged by 24.7%, driven by substantial growth in the four largest markets: France (+41.5%), Spain (+26.5%), Germany (+16.4%), and Italy (+16.1%), which collectively account for over 70% of EU sales. Sales totaled 255,511, accounting for 28.9% of the entire market.

Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) also increased by a notable 11.6% to 64,351 units, stemming from solid growth in key markets like Germany (+22.3%), Belgium (+21.8%) and France (+11.8%). Plug-in hybrid electric cars now represent 7.3% of EU car sales.

In February 2024, the EU gasoline car market expanded by 6.1%, primarily driven by increases in the four largest markets, notably in Italy (+33.4%), along with Spain (+3.7%), Germany (+2.3%), and France (+2.1%). Although gasoline remains buyers’ most popular power source, its market share dropped from 36.9% to 35.5% this year.

By contrast, the EU diesel car market contracted further, by 5.1% in February. A decline was recorded in several markets, including three of the largest: France (-30.5%), Spain (-17.4%), and Italy (-11.8%). Germany diverged from this trend, with diesel sales growing by 9.7%. Diesel car sales reached 113,891 units, accounting for a market share of 12.9%, down from 15% last year.

The results for the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland) and the United Kingdom were practically the same as those for the EU.

By brand

Looking at February, we see that not much has changed regarding the ranking of the different car manufacturing groups and brands. Those doing well (increasing their sales more heavily than the general 10.1% surge from the total market) are Skoda, Seat, Cupra, and Porsche within the VW Group, Citroën, and Lancia/Chrysler in the Stellantis Group, Toyota and Lexus, Volvo and Tesla, and, finally, Mitsubishi and Honda.

For the first two months of this year, the VW Group stays comfortably in the number one position, with a market share of 26.1%, followed by Stellantis with 19.3%. Third place is still for the Renault Group (10.2% market share), but Toyota has now taken over fourth place (8.4%) from Hyundai Group (7.9%).

BMW comes in sixth (stable at 5,9% market share), and Mercedes-Benz is seventh (with only 4.6% against 5.4% last year). Ford (3.0%), Volvo (2.6%), and Tesla (2.1%) occupy the other places in the top ten.

Also noticeable is the appearance of the first Chinese group, SAIC, at place 13, with an 80% sales increase and a market share of 1.3%, while Mitsubishi shows signs of life again doubling its market share (from 0.3 to 0.6%) and increasing sales by 118.3%.

What about EVs?

Many media have focused on the ‘stagnation’ of EV sales these last months. The EV market is confronted with a growth path slowing down considerably due to some (big) markets where subsidies and tax incentives disappeared rather suddenly.

In some countries, the professional markets are also hesitating about the transition, while individual buyers are still reluctant to change over. The biggest hurdles remain price, range, and charging infrastructure.

Another problem for the BEV seems to be its image now that early adopters are all convinced. We hear rumors about company fleet managers refusing to make the significant change and about company car drivers being too macho to switch to electricity. The prejudices prevailing in a country like Belgium also stand in many other European countries.