European Car Sales Jump 11% in March 2024 on Electric Vehicle Surge
By Javi West Larrañaga
March 2024 European Car Sales Overview
April 23 (Reuters) - Strong sales of electric vehicles more than offset diminishing sales of petrol and diesel cars in March, pushing up new car sales in Europe as Tesla extended a comeback, official data showed on Thursday.
Overall car registrations, a proxy for sales, in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association were up 11.1% to 1,581,169 vehicles sold in the month, according to the European auto lobby ACEA.
That is the best year-on-year gain in 23 months, since April 2024's 12% increase.
Electrified Vehicles Dominate the Market
Battery Electric Vehicle Growth
ELECTRIFIED VEHICLES MAKE UP NEARLY 70% OF REGISTRATIONS
Having risen by about 15% both in January and February, registrations of battery electric vehicles jumped by around 42% in March, a sign that consumers could be shunning internal combustion engines over fuel price rises due to the Iran war.
Country-Specific Trends
The trend was noticeable in Germany, France and Italy, among others, where registrations of battery electric vehicles grew by about 66%, 69% and 72%, respectively.
Plug-in Hybrid and Combustion Engine Sales
Sales of plug-in hybrids in the region followed closely, with a near 32% annual gain, while petrol and diesel cars continued their decline with drops of about 10% and 14% respectively.
That means electrified vehicles, either battery-electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid, accounted for about 70% of all registrations.
Tesla and BYD: The Electric Race
Tesla's Comeback
TESLA OVERTAKES BYD
Tesla scored a striking 84.3% year-on-year increase - after resuming growth in February for the first time in more than a year - and overtook Chinese competitor BYD, though the latter's sales also rose sharply.
BYD's Performance
Registrations of BYD cars grew 147.6% in March to 37,580 units, shy of Tesla's 52,600.
Legacy Automakers' Results
Sales of legacy car makers Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault grew by 4.8%, 6% and 3.4% respectively, while those of BMW climbed 15.4%.
(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
