According to the sales figures assembled by the European Car Manufacturers Association ACEA, the EU’s car market grew by a modest but reasonably robust 6,7% in November 2023. Despite a relatively low comparison base, solid growth persisted, marking the sixteenth consecutive month of expansion.

Some markets had substantial double-digit gains, including two of the largest: Italy (+16,2%) and France (+14%). Conversely, the German car market retracted, recording a 5,7% decline compared to November 2022.

Eleven months into 2023, new car registrations increased by 15,7%, reaching nearly ten million units. Except for Hungary, all EU markets grew during these eleven months. The four largest markets notably contributed to this trend: Italy (+20%), Spain (+17,3%), France (+16,2%), and Germany (+11,4%).

BEVs still rising, PHEVs declining

In November, the battery-electric car market share increased to 16,3%, a rise from 15% last year. The year-to-date share holds steady at 14,2%, consistently surpassing diesel at 13,7%. Hybrid-electric cars were ranked second with a 27,4% market share, while gasoline cars maintained their lead at 32,7%.

In November 2023, EU registrations of new battery-electric cars surged by 16,4%, totaling 144 378 units. Several markets contributed to this growth with double and triple-digit percentage gains, most notably Belgium (+150,2%), now the fifth-largest market by volume.

However, battery-electric car sales experienced a setback in Germany, declining by 22,5%. Despite this, the year-to-date volume reached nearly 1,4 million units, reflecting a 48,2% increase compared to the previous year, representing a 14,2% share of the EU car market in this period.

In November, new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars surged by 28,7%, driven by double-digit growth in the three largest markets: Germany (+38,4%), France (+35,8%), and Italy (+30,2%). This led to a cumulative 29,9% increase, reaching almost 2,5 million units sold as of November – over a quarter of the EU market share.

In contrast, sales of plug-in hybrid electric cars declined by 22,1% to 72 002 units last month. Despite notable increases in Belgium (+43,8%) and France (+17,8%), these gains were insufficient to offset Germany’s substantial decline (-59,3%), the largest market for this power source. Consequently, the market share of plug-in hybrid cars fell from 11,1% last year to 8,1% in November this year.

Gasoline hold; diesel goes down

In November 2023, the EU gasoline car market grew by 4,2%, despite a continual decline in market share, which stood at 32,7% last month. Key markets like Italy (+20,2%) and Germany (+12,5%) saw significant sales increases, contributing to this overall growth. This resulted in a cumulative volume of 3,5 million units sold, reflecting an 11,1% increase and a 35,7% market share in the eleven months.

Conversely, the EU’s diesel car market continued its downward trend in November, contracting by 10,3%. This decline was observed in most of the bloc’s markets, including the four largest: France (-28,3%), Spain (-22,8%), Italy (-7,4%), and Germany (-1%).

Despite this decline, diesel car sales grew particularly in Central and Eastern European markets, such as Poland (+13,8%). In November, diesel cars represented a market share of 12,2%, down from 14,5% in the same month last year.

We see the same tendencies in the non-EU countries for the first eleven months. In the UK, BEVs rose by 27,5%, but plug-in hybrids are also trendy (+38,8%), while full hybrids grew (24,8%). Gasoline cars in the UK also grew (+12,5%), but diesel further declined (-15,7%).

In the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland), we see the same tendencies, except for Norway, where sales declined by almost 15%. This resulted in lower sales figures for all power sources, but most for gasoline and diesel.

By brand

When we look at the brands in the EU, Volkswagen Group remains solid in the lead, increasing its cumulative sales for the first eleven months by 19,8% and now having a market share of 26,1%. Stellantis Group stays second but only grows 4,8% and loses some market share (from 20,1 to 18,2%).

Third is the Renault Group, which now has a 10,8% market share and increased sales by 19,6%. Hyundai Group is fourth, selling only 4,1% more and losing market share (from 9,4 to 8,5%).

Remarkable is BMW Group’s fifth place in November, overtaking Toyota. It’s been a close battle for the first eleven months, but the Japanese are still in front. Mercedes-Benz stays seventh, followed by Ford, Tesla (+115,8% sales growth), Volvo, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, and JLR. Mitsubishi and Honda are closing the ranks.