2024-04-20 13:13:43
New car sales in the European Union recorded their first drop in 2024 in March (-5.2%), due to the negative impact of the Easter holidays, with negative values in the four largest markets, it was announced this Thursday.
The Easter holidays “negatively” affected sales last month in most European Union markets, including the four largest: Germany (-6.2%), Spain (-4.7%), Italy (-3.7 %) and France (-1.5%), the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) said in a statement today.
However, Q1 numbers remained strong, with sales increasing 4.4% to almost 2.8 million units.
This quarterly increase was reflected in the EU’s four main car markets, with Italy and France recording an increase of 5.7% each, followed by Germany (+4.2%) and Spain (+3.1%). %).
By energy source, new car sales underwent adjustments in March.
Falling electric cars
Battery electric cars fell to a 13% share, almost a point less than in the same period last year (13.9%), reflecting the general slowdown in the market, according to ACEA.
Even so, the numbers for the first quarter of 2024 continue to be positive, with an increase of 3.8% compared to the same period last year.
Hybrid-electric car sales were particularly strong in March, achieving a 12.6% increase in registrations despite the general market downturn. This segment occupied 29% of the market, compared to 24.4% in March 2023.
On the other hand, records of hybrids plug-in fell 6.5% last month, which is equivalent to 7.1% of the total car market.
There are three new Porsches a day on Luxembourg’s roads
Gasoline and diesel cars, together, captured less than half of the market (47.8%, against 51.8%) in March, thus bearing the brunt of the general market recession, according to ACEA.
Sales of gasoline vehicles decreased by 10.2% in March, reducing their market share from 37.4% to 35.4% compared to the same month last year.
The decline in the diesel vehicle market was even more severe, with a fall of 18.5% in March, with substantial falls in France (-32.1%), Spain (-38%) and Italy (-27.6%). %), representing a market share of 12.4%, compared to 14.4% last year.
2024-04-20 13:13:43