Electric vehicles’ share of the new car market in Europe fell dramatically in August, according to the latest data from industry body ACEA.
A total of 755,717 new cars were registered across Europe (including the European Free Trade Association and the UK) last month, down by 16.5% compared with August 2023.
Of these, 16.7% were electric, a fall from the 21.7% recorded a year ago.
Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid sales fell from 7.5% of the market to 7.0% and diesel dropped from an 11.5% share to 10.1%.
Sales of pure-petrol fell from 33.0% of the market to 32.5% while conventional (non-plug-in) hybrids’ popularity rose dramatically, rising from a 24.2% share to 31.3%.
These trends were not specific to August, either. Between the start of this year and the end of last month, EVs recorded a 14.0% share, down from 15.1% over the same period last year.
PHEVs were down by 0.3%, diesels dropped by 1.5% and petrol fell by 2.0%.
The only powertrain to grow its market share between January and August 2023 and the end of the same period this year was the regular hybrid, which rose from 25.7% to 30.4%.
ACEA attributed the trend to a failure to meet several “crucial conditions”, such as the provision of affordable clean energy and raw materials. “Economic growth, consumer acceptance and trust in infrastructure have not developed sufficiently, either,” it added.
ACEA has now called on the European Union to soften CO2 emissions targets for 2025, given the unexpected swing in the new car market over the past year. It warned that manufacturers were likely to be hit with “multi-billion-euro fines” for missing their targets, threatening job losses, production cuts and reduced investment in electric car development.
“We need urgent and meaningful action now to reverse the downward trend, restore EU industry competitiveness and reduce strategic vulnerabilities,” it said.
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