Electric Cars: Registrations Fall in Europe

The share of electric vehicles declined in March amid a general downturn in the automotive sector

Electric cars are struggling to enter the European market. In March 2024, registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEV) fell by 11.3% to 134,397 units, and their market share fell from 13.9% in March 2023 to 13% in the same month of 2024. This is reported by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Significant growth in electric vehicle registrations was observed only in Belgium (+23.8%) and France (+10.9%), while Germany saw a decline of as much as 28.9%. However, in the first three months of 2024, 332,999 new BEVs were registered, up 3.8% from the same quarter the previous year.

Consumers seem to be more convinced by hybrid-electric vehicles (+12.6% in March), which are growing despite the overall market decline; this segment reached 299,426 units in March, representing 29% of the market, up from 24.4% in March 2023. On the other hand, plug-in hybrid registrations declined (–6.5% in March 2024 at 73,029 units, representing 7.1% of the total automotive market).

Overall, the EU car market recorded its first downturn of the year in March with a 5.2% drop to 1 million units compared to the same month in 2023; the Easter vacation, which this year happened to be in March, is weighing on many countries’ budgets. However, the first two months of the year saw double-digit year-over-year growth, with January +12.1% and February +10.1%.