In August 2023, the EU car market expanded by 21%, reaching 787 626 registered units, marking the thirteenth consecutive month of growth, according to the figures of the Association of European Car Manufacturers (ACEA). The market share of battery–electric cars exceeded 20% for the first time (up from 11,6% in August last year).

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%).

From January to August 2023, new EU car registrations grew substantially (+17,9%), totaling 7,1 million units. Despite this year–to–date improvement, the market trails the pre–COVID-19 pandemic level of 9 million units sold in 2019.

Notably, 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%).

As already mentioned, the market share of battery–electric cars exceeded 20% for the first time, overtaking diesel for the second time this year and becoming the third–most–popular choice for new car buyers.

Hybrid–electric cars held their 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 last year to 32,7% in 2023.

Electrified

In August 2023, EU battery–electric car (BEV) registrations surged by 118,1%, reaching 165 165 units, accounting for 21% of the market. Except for Malta (–22,6 %), all EU markets saw double– and triple–digit percentage growth, with Germany, the largest market by volume, growing by a remarkable 170,7%. Belgium recorded the highest growth rate of 224,5%. Overall, battery–electric car sales increased by a significant 62,7%, with nearly 1 million units registered from January to August.

In August, new EU hybrid–electric car (HEV) registrations expanded by 29%, primarily driven by robust growth in three of its four largest markets: Germany (+59%), France (+38,7%), and Spain (+21,5%), while Italy recorded a slight decline (–2,3%). This resulted in a cumulative 28,6% increase, with nearly 1,8 million units sold between January and August, equivalent to almost a quarter of the market.

Last month, new EU plug–in hybrid car (PHEV) registrations grew by 5,5%, totaling 58 557 units. Strong performance in major markets such as the Netherlands (+44,7%), France (+40,5%), and Sweden (+24,9%) helped offset the decline in Germany (–41,1%), the largest market for this power source. Despite this growth, the market share of plug–in hybrid cars decreased from 8,5% to 7,4% in August this year.

Petrol and diesel

Last month, the EU petrol car market slightly increased by 2,1% compared to August 2022, but its market share decreased from 38,7% to 32,7%. A solid performance in Italy (+25,3%) and France (+21,5%) primarily drove this growth, while most of the EU’s markets declined.

Conversely, the EU’s diesel car market continued its decline in August (–6%), despite growth in Germany (+9,2%) and Central and Eastern European markets, notably Slovakia (+22,6%) and Romania (+19,4%). Diesel cars now have a market share of 12,5%, down from 16,1% in August of the previous year.

For the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland), we see continuous growth for BEVs and HEVs and a decline for all other ‘fuels’, while in the UK, all electrified vehicles noted serious growth, while only diesel really receded (-18,1%).

By Brand

When we look at the brands, the Volkswagen Group remains the biggest seller. Although it saw its sales in August grow by 21,2%, its market share remains the same at 26,6%. The overall market share for the first eight months is 26,3% (up from 25,2% in 2022)..

The number two, Stellantis Group, sold 6,4% more cars but saw its market share decline to 16,7% (from 19,0%). For the first eight months, the market share shrunk from 20,6 to 18,3%. Renault Group remains third and is recovering seriously, now having a market share of 9,5% in August and 10,9% overall for the first eight months.

Fourth and fifth remain the Hyundai Group and the Toyota Group, with 6,3% and 17% sales growth in August, respectively, but a decline in market share to 8,4 and 7,2%, respectively. For the first 8 months, it’s 8,5% and 6,8%.

The German premium makes BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz remain sixth and seventh, increasing their sales in August by 22,5% and 13,1%, respectively. In total, for the first eight months, they have 6,6% and 5,4% market share, the latter being almost the same as that of Audi, part of the VW Group.

Ford remains in eighth place but feels the breath of Tesla in its neck. In August, Tesla sold more cars than  Ford in the EU (27 285 or +247,4%, against 26 245 or -9,8%). For the first eight months, Tesla increased its market share from 1 to 2,5%, with a 192% sales increase. The Model Y is on course to become the most popular car in Europe in 2023.

Other (independent) brands are doing well also in August, like Volvo (+32,5%), Nissan (+32%), Suzuki (+62,6%) or Mazda (+27%). Land Rover grew by 35,9%, Jaguar declined slightly (-1,4%), but we’re talking already very low figures here. Mitsubishi continues its decent (-7,2%, and -30,1% cumulative), while Honda revived a little bit in August (+29,0%) but still saw a -31,1% decline for the first eight months.