European Car Market Collapses, Electric Cars -36%
ACEA, which unites European carmakers (excluding Stellantis), is calling on EU institutions to present urgent support measures before new CO₂ emission targets for cars and trucks come into force in 2025
Europe’s car crisis is getting murkier. This is supported by August data: there were 755,717 vehicles registered, down 16.5% from the same month of 2023.
However, since the beginning of 2024, 8,661,401 vehicles have been sold, representing a slight increase of 1.7% compared to the same period in 2023. Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) refers to the EU, EFTA, and UK market. Then the real collapse of electric vehicles is emphasized, which in the EFTA market in August amounted to 36%, and in the European Union alone, the decline is 43.9%.
This is why ACEA has called on the European institutions to take action to support the sector and review certain regulations.
“The continuing trend of declining market share for battery electric vehicles in the EU sends an extremely worrying signal to industry and policy makers,” says the association’s press release, which asks “European institutions to present urgent support measures before new CO2 emission targets for cars and trucks come into force in 2025. The European automotive industry supports Paris and EU goals to decarbonize transport by 2050 and has invested billions in electrification to bring cars to market. Today, transportation technology and the availability of zero-emission vehicles are no longer a barrier. We are contributing to this transition, but unfortunately, the other elements necessary for this systemic change are missing. Making matters worse is the rapid decline in EU competitiveness, as confirmed by the Draghi report.”
In essence, ACEA explains that the conditions are lacking to push the market to buy zero-emission vehicles, and at the same time there is no competitive manufacturing environment.
However, in recent hours, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis (which, among others, owns the brands Citroen, FIAT, Jeep, and Peugeot) that left ACEA two years ago explained that he was against the association’s request to change the ACEA 2025 goals, explaining that everything is now ready for the transition and that efforts will be redoubled to bring electricity to the market at more affordable prices, that is, around 25,000 euros.
